Sunshine
by Munkii
Summary: Miyako and her contagious happiness, and the smile of hers that managed to hide away a monster. Miyako plans to continue her charade, but of course nothing is ever cut and dry at Hidamari Apartments. Chapter 11: On Hold due to duress last week
1. Prologue

It was always easy for Miyako to be happy when Yuno was around. Always easy to be that happy go-lucky person that never ran out of one-liners and ridiculous faces. Since day one they had stuck together like glue, like the kind of glue you use to build ridiculous bridges out of toothpicks and too much Elmers, and Miyako had come to appreciate her haplessly attached companion in all her adorable, frolicking glory. The toothpicks might break, but the glue... Well... Once it set it wasn't coming apart unless you had a blow torch or some other ingenious contraption.

And the glue that held Yuno and Miyako together was definitely set.

It was difficult, then, when the time came for Yuno and Miyako both to take their leave for the mid-term break. Miyako of course had things to occupy her time with while she was at home, and she happily continued creating artwork in the style that was uniquely hers and hers alone. The countless times that Miyako spent drawing abstract pictures of Yuno that more closely resembled alphabet soup with only the letters A, V and Y floating around in a bowl were, for lack of a better word, countless. At least her parents couldn't understand them.

However, the wonderful Yuno she had come to know and adore was certainly not befit to reside on the pages of her artbook. The Yuno she had come to love was certainly not befit to be so far away right now either, but fortunately that distance wouldn't remain much longer. Tomorrow Miyako would be back at Hidamari Apartments and their adventures would continue. She would lock her feelings away in her heart for another semester. She would prance in the sunshine, rather than wrap her arms around the one star she had grown to desire with every facet of her being.

_**- - -**_

Sunshine is coming June 15th! Chapters will be released every Tuesday.

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._


	2. Chapter 1

The quiet summer afternoon rolled along, endless heat and humidity abating for only as long as the gentle breeze allowed. Even the clouds passing through offered no relief, drifting high enough overhead that the rays of the setting Sun slid underneath completely unhindered. The sunlight, carrying a rather ferocious heat that almost felt like the radiation from a toaster set to bagel mode, landed upon the structure known as Hidamari Apartments without remorse. There was no off switch, and so the residents of Hidamari were hapless to the late day swelter.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, however, there was only one resident residing at Hidamari that afternoon. Clothed in a plain white baggy t-shirt and short blue shorts with a white star on the front of the right side, Miyako stood leaning against the second floor railing on the front of the complex. Her hair was done up as it usually was. The two pigtails occasionally blew about in the breeze and seemed to be requiring some sort of cleaning attention in the very near future.

Most of Miyako required some sort of cleaning attention, in fact. Her clothing had certainly absorbed more than its intended share of sweat, but the perspiration had not stopped there. If one looked closely enough they were sure to find beads of moisture on her ankles, right next to her dirty feet that were bare of any sort of shoe or sandal. Her face was particularly shiny, though not because of her radiant and energetically excessive personality. Rather, it was covered in the greasy oils that had perspired and lingered throughout the day. Normally Miyako managed to clean herself up every so often during the hot days of summer, but not today.

Today had not been so forgiving, and the heat was only just the beginning.

The train ride back to Hidamari had been long and tiring. Miyako had planned to sleep, or maybe even draw, but those plans never came to fruition. Even the possibility of people watching never happened. Miyako had been sure that she would spot someone standing ominously among the ridership that looked like a serial killer, or drug lord, or some other questionable character out of some dramatic novel that she hadn't read. But she didn't. Maybe they were there, poised with a knife glinting in the sunlight that passed though the windows of the train car, or holding a gun under a two week old edition of the Japan Times that had been stained by a mediocre bowl of ramen, but Miyako hadn't see them. She couldn't have seen them. Her eyes had only seen the cellphone in her hand, and the clock on the front that ticked away the long minutes of the afternoon.

Even now in the heat of afternoon Miyako glanced at her cellphone. It was curious how she could still have it in her hand even though she knew no one was going to call her. Even though she knew that there was no reason for anyone to call her. She had already spoken with Yuno that day. The words of their talk played through her thoughts repeatedly, dulling the ever-present randomness and creativity that normally flowed through Miyako's veins like the caffeine from a double-shot of espresso.

It had been a brief conversation, one that wasn't particularly confusing nor hard to understand, but Miyako had trouble taking it in just the same. Only just an hour ago Yuno had called, and only just an hour ago Miyako had been informed of a change in plans.

Yuno was still coming back to Hidamari Apartments earlier then normal, but rather then return this afternoon, the time had been moved to tomorrow morning.

_"I'm sorry, Miya-chan, my parents want me to stay one more night at home just in case they forget to do something tomorrow morning. They're still leaving on their trip very early so I will see you in the morning,"_ she had apologized sweetly.

_"That's fine Yunocchi. I'm back here already... It's really hot outside,"_ Miyako had replied, in a manner that she had immediately placed as dumb. The kind of dumb that was completely different from her normal and completely acceptable, humorously spastic dumb. The good dumb that knew no limits with regards to immaturity, and was always funny to Miyako no matter what the circumstances.

However, it had not been that good dumb. Rather, it had been a bad dumb. The kind that destroyed good moods. She had not expected the change of plans at all. When Yuno had called, she had expected the voice of the short girl with sandy blond hair to be excited. Happy to be nearing her return to Hidamari at last. Happy that three long weeks of being without her Miyako were finally over and life could resume as normal, or something close to it.

At least, Miyako mused, it was a pleasant thought to think that Yuno missed her as much. It was a pleasant thought to think that the adorable Yuno she had come to know over the last couple of years was returning to Hidamari early for her and only her. School wouldn't start for a week, but Yuno would be at Hidamari anyways. She wasn't returning explicitly for Miyako, however. She was returning because her parents would be out of town, and so the circumstances of the situation were quite the opposite of what Miyako had wanted. Rather then Yuno returning early for Miyako, Miyako had returned early for Yuno.

It was still an agreeable arrangement. Miyako had learned of Yuno's plans early into the summer break, and over the course of daily phone calls between them it had been decided that they would both return early to the place that felt more like a home than where they had grown up. Miyako had little trouble convincing her family that she had good reason to return to Hidamari early, but it wasn't like they could particularly stop the bundle of energy anyways.

_"I guess another afternoon won't hurt,"_ Miyako thought to herself, gazing up from her cellphone to the setting Sun as it neared the horizon. _"I should have saved some homework."_

In preparation for the return of Yuno, Miyako had managed to complete all her summer studies, having attacked them with a certain extreme and logistically simple viciousness that rivaled the malicious intent of the descending aliens in Space Invaders. The last two years had taught her well not to save it until the last minute, and this particular year would be their last at Hidamari. This summer vacation was the last they would spend here. Catching up on homework during this next week was simply not acceptable, even in Miyako's code of conduct which centered around joyous frolicking and needless procrastination.

Every day over summer she had sat herself down in front of her work, thoughts of having free time with Yuno driving her forward with certain unmatched purpose. The kind of purpose that allowed her to focus on the task at hand while still allowing her to be creative. If it was one thing that Miyako was always good at, it was channeling creativity at any time of the day, under any circumstances. It was a talent which Miyako employed excessively over break, and to great effect.

Much of Miyako's work over vacation had been art, and where possible Miyako had taken the pleasure of incorporating elements of Hidamari or Yuno into the pieces. Some of the sketches included memories of Hiro's cooking, while others included rather morbid scenes of Sae's lifeless body over a rough draft, glasses smashed against her face. But Miyako's favorite works had been those that included pieces of Yuno's life. One such drawing captured the concept of Yuno's short hair and its interplay with her cute and ever-present hair clips. Another built upon Yuno's smile and how it ascended space-time into the sixth dimension by means of an interstellar space vessel, with said vessel being powered by mysterious energy flowing from a pair of Yuno's cherry patterned inter-dimensional panties. Miyako was quite fond of that piece.

Another gust of the afternoon wind blew through Miyako's hair, lifting a few of the sweat dampened strands into the air for a brief moment. The breeze carried with it the smell of rain, and Miyako vaguely remembered the forecast for evening showers that she had heard over the course of the morning before leaving her parents' home. As the thought left her mind just as quickly as it had entered, she was suddenly overtaken by a desire to eat.

"Foood... Foooood..." Miyako said out loud, the words spilling out from her mouth much like the word 'brains' might come from the misshapen mouth of a zombie on a murderous hunt for human flesh and rather convincing life size sex dolls. Her feet began to shuffle slowly, dragging along the upper walkway of the apartments, as she wandered inside the still-living human living quarters she called home. She located her coin purse and opened it to find enough money for a bag of curry ramen. She slipped on a pair of sandals.

_"It would have been nice if Yunocchi was here to cook for me..." _Miyako thought to herself, reminded yet again of the evening arrangements that would not take place. _ "We were planning on it too, weren't we? It's been ages since we've eaten together."_

Ever since the beginning of the year, Yuno had taken over the motherly duties of cooking. Hiro and Sae were no longer living at Hidamari. Perhaps it could be said that a part of Hiro remained in Yuno's cooking. Nori and Nazuna occasionally came over for dinner, though instead of eating in Hiro's room, the meals always occurred in Yuno's. _"Tomorrow I guess. I'm going to want soumen noodles tomorrow."_

"Soumen! For soumen!" Purse in hand, Miyako dashed back to the rail on the balcony outside her front door, freshly invigorated with the thought of delicious food prepared by her Yuno. "So this is the way it has to be, my fair weather friends that are not furry and do not taste like chicken. For soumen, for ramen! For justice!"

Taking hold of the railing, Miyako hopped over to the other side to rest her feet on the ledge, peering down some fifteen feet to the ground below. "This is for all the children that never learned how to fly! For all the children that had an allergic reaction to fairy dust and developed asthma!"

"Nooo!" came the shrill voice of her teacher quite suddenly, and Miyako glanced to find the long haired young woman on the sidewalk sporting a rather frilly multicolored blouse and skirt that perhaps revealed too much skin. "It's not worth it, Miyako-san!"

"Oh, this fair world is not made for me, Yoshinoya-sensei! Tell my wife I love her!"

"Nooo! Miyako-san! We can make things better! Get down from there, through marriage counseling it will be okay! We can go to a shrink together and ramble about our meaningless lives!"

"Au revoir my fair maiden, in the afterlife we meet again!" Miyako called back, a look of false distress on her face. Miyako leaped from the balcony onto the ground below, only to land upright amidst Yoshinoya's cries as the teacher ran to her.

"Miyako-san!"

Wiggling slightly as she straightened herself, Miyako turned to Yoshinoya stoically. "I have arrived. There is no soumen. There is only ramen."

"But... But... Berri-mart is closing soon!" Yoshinoya replied, half-serious and half-delirious from the heat, having already forgotten that Miyako had just attempted a mock suicide.

"Then... then I will starve to death." Miyako turned her gaze towards the setting Sun, now all but gone from the sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it. Your face... It's beautiful, isn't it?" She added distantly.

"It is! It is! It..." Yoshinoya stopped mid-sentence, the words coming to an end as she suddenly realized Miyako was no longer speaking like the clown from just a few moments before. "Wait..."

"Salute!" Miyako posed with her fingers to her forehead in a military salute to the ball of fire that was nearly out of view, her body rigid and straight, her face serious. The ravenous, genetically mutated creatures... they were coming. The shadows of the flying terrors that possessed demons inside their snouts passed before the orb of light as it disappeared from the sky.

Yoshinoya followed suit almost involuntarily, her hand rising to her head quickly in salute.

"For hire!" Miyako's voice boomed across the small yard. She couldn't remember why it was funny, but she was certain her knowledge of the subject was lacking in the first place, and so of course, it didn't matter. She could blame Nori later.

Before Yoshinoya could think to question Miyako further, the blond had said her goodbyes and was headed off to the convenience store at a lively pace. It wasn't long before Yoshinoya stood alone in the fading light of the evening, left to ponder what Miyako had been thinking about when the energetic youth had mentioned a beautiful face.

"Oh, she must be talking about my face! She said 'Your face', right?" Yoshinoya bounced in her sandals as her mind put Miyako's incomplete thoughts together into a cohesive picture that looked nothing like the cover on the box of the puzzle. What's worse was that the puzzle was a three-dimensional puzzle that could only fit together one way because it was made for six year-olds and contained exactly eighteen pieces. It was therefor clear that Yoshinoya had no idea what Miyako had been talking about, but it didn't matter much. The flitting nature of Yoshinoya's thoughts was particularly flitting today.

"Ah, why is it so hot!" Yoshinoya moaned, wandering back to the sidewalk.

_**Sunshine: Chapter 2**__ is scheduled for June 22nd.  
_  
**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Seeking Beta Readers** Please send a message via my profile.

* soumen is a thin white noodle


	3. Chapter 2

The evening was still warm and humid, but Miyako didn't seem to mind as she strolled up to the small convenience store. She had become quite fond of the quaint neighborhood outlet over the years. Whenever she was hungry, or whenever she had free time and could make herself hungry, she would walk down the street to the beacon of hope called Berri-mart to find a delicious treat or two. Finding treats was easy enough, especially since the shelves were well stocked. The trouble usually came when it was time to pay for them, and there had been a few times when Miyako had left empty handed.

Entering the store, Miyako was met with the smell of sugary confections and drinks carried on the cool air so wonderfully provided by the fully functioning air conditioning unit. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the proprietor, and she waved enthusiastically to the woman whom at this point knew her very well. Perhaps too well, even, but it was hard to avoid such a relationship after visiting the store nearly everyday for years.

"Ah, shrimp crunchies!" Miyako exclaimed exuberantly, dashing to the snack shelf that she knew so well. The shelf that she could name all the items on, blindfolded and wearing a monkey suit. This must have been the thousandth time she had seen the pink and yellow bag of shrimp flavored chips, with it's cute little picture of cute little shrimp crunchies, but in this moment it didn't matter. They were shrimp crunchies and they had monosodium glutamate and they were delicious. Miyako wanted them, but her face dropped into consternation when she remembered her very nearly empty coin purse.

"Ah, maybe! Maybe I have enough!" Miyako opened her purse excitedly, a large and rather optimistic smile on her face as she rummaged through her change, carefully counting each coin to determine how much she actually had.

"Ah... 166 yen, so that means..." Miyako performed a mental calculation in her head as she added the cost of shrimp crunchies to curry ramen, all the while the shopkeeper eying her with a knowing expression. This was standard for Miyako when she came in alone. Standard for when she wasn't trying to impress Yuno with her particularly spectacular addition skills. "49 yen for ramen, and 119 yen for shrimp crunchies..."

It was only after several intense, mathematical addition moments that Miyako's face dropped once again in angst, and the transformation into were-Miyako began. The monster that stalked the streets at night, threatening small children to give her their candy. The blonde-haired demoness that lurked in the shadows of alleyways, those that were curiously dark when they didn't need to be, strewn with dumpsters of greasy pizza box cardboard and occupied by noisy kittens prancing along the lids of rusted steel trash cans.

"Nooooo!" Miyako cried, her face turning towards the ceiling of the store, painted with an expression of horrific nature. The transformation took hold of her face, contorting it into that of a beast of the dark, her mane swishing behind her head in a fuzzy mess as hair ties finally slackened in their hold, falling to the floor. "Two yen short! The Dark Lord is not pleased."

The sound of the door opening behind fell upon the beast's keen ears like the pitter-patter of a small rodent in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Yo, Miyako."

Miyako turned around quickly, her ears flared out and her eyes wide open, dirty hair flying around only to come to a tentative rest on her hunched shoulders. She caught the scent of the human in question, and before she could stop herself she was dashing towards the hapless being with a hungering vengeance.

"Ah, Ooya-san!" Miyako exclaimed excitedly as the dark spirit of were-Miyako suddenly returned to the depths of the Earth, probably where it should of stayed in the first place. A smile spread across her face. "I thought you were going away this week for something."

"Well," the landlady started, adjusting a piece of candy in her mouth, "I'm actually on my way right now, but I thought I might stop in to pick up something to drink. I still have to make it to the train station on my bike."

Miyako wiggled slightly, eying the shrimp crunchies out of the corner of her eye furtively. "It's for part time work, isn't it?"

"You aren't very subtle, Miyako. I heard you from outside, you know. Here. This would probably make your night, wouldn't it?" Fishing through her pocket, the landlady pulled out two one yen coins and handed them to Miyako. "You owe me."

"I'm saved!" Miyako pranced around, holding the two yen coins up in the air, "Crunchy crunchies!"

It was hard to believe that Miyako was so close to graduating high school, but having been accustomed to Miyako's misplaced energy, the landlady shrugged it off and smiled. "Don't spend it all at once. I know it's a lot."

"Thank you, Ooya-san!" Miyako beamed gratefully, her body still moving, seemingly incapable of remaining still.

"Yea, it's for part-time work. I'll be back in a week, I need to get going so I don't miss my train. See you then." With a hand up in the air in a gesture goodbye, the landlady made her way to the register to pay for a drink.

Miyako said her own goodbyes and thank yous and then turned back to the task at hand. She took a bag of shrimp crunchies down from the shelf next to her and then proceeded to the ramen shelf two aisles over. She knew exactly were the curry ramen was, of course. "Locked on target! Objective nearing grappling hook range! Extend the boom!" Her sweaty fingers closed around the package of ramen.

"Curry ramen acquired! Retract the boom!" Strange noises came from Miyako's throat as she added in the necessary and certainly required sound effects for such a delicate operation. "Now we go pay the nice lady so she doesn't get mad."

After bouncing over to the register to pay for her selection, Miyako dumped the contents of her purse on the counter along with the additional two yen the landlady had given her. "All 168 yen!"

"Thank you, have a nice evening."

Miyako took a food item in each hand and made her way to the door, opening it only to be assailed by the evening heat once more. Even without the Sun, the clouds in the sky had managed to lock in the warmth from the day. The wind had definitely picked up, and the smell of approaching rain was thicker now. Certainly it wouldn't be much longer before the downpour started.

_"So rain it is, then." _ Miyako sighed and began the trip home with a slow walk, the energy of her pace going to Berri-mart having disappeared off into a small, dark corner somewhere. It wasn't that she particularly hated rain, or even that she disliked it. Rather, it served as an endearing reminder of some of her fonder memories with Yuno.

It had only been several months ago. Hiro and Sae had moved out only a few days before, and the emptiness in the wake of their absence had taken a hold of Hidamari like the latex-gloved hand of a heart surgeon on a scalpel.

The luck that day had not been so kind. Yuno had lost her pencil case by some hapless anti-miracle, and the storm that was supposed to have let up by the afternoon persisted well past the end of school. To top it all off, Miyako had no idea what to eat for a snack that evening, and there was certainly nothing in her cupboards. Yuno had also informed her that she was short on food items as well, and so the makings of a perfect storm had unfolded like a poorly constructed paper crane.

...o.o.o.o_..._

"No way!" Miyako said as she learned of the shortage. "Not even rice crackers? The ones with frosting?"

"I'm sorry Miya-chan, I guess we kind of forgot to the store... We always went with Hiro-san and Sae-san, didn't we?" Yuno looked away cutely, staring at the temperamental sky above. Her face was precious, her eyes... Adorable even though they showed sadness. Even though she was ruffled from an unfortunate day, and a hard season of goodbyes. "I can make something for dinner though, soba maybe. I'm sure I have flour. Would that be okay?"

_"Soba!"_ A barrage of thoughts filled Miyako's mind like a chaotic train wreck composed of edible toy train cars. Of course, it would be more then okay. An honest smile spread across her face, and her worries faded away as she put an arm around Yuno's shoulders. "Soba it is."

Together, and with food, it would be okay. Together they could surely lift the dark clouds blocking out the sunshine. Together she could watch Yuno prepare delicious soba as she offered moral support from Yuno's bed.

"Oh, here. I guess we just have mine." Yuno said simply, treating Miyako's embrace as if it were nothing unusual, much to Miyako's glee. Yuno opened her umbrella, and before it could really begin to block out any rain, Miyako had taken the wooden handle into her free hand. "Oh, it's okay Miya-chan, I can hold it..." Yuno began, only to be quickly hushed by a tender, stubborn smile from Miyako.

"No no, you save your strength for soba noodles." Miyako insisted with a joyful laugh. Falling silent, the small girl leaned into her under the light purple parasol as giant droplets fell from the sky.

Yuno smiled.

It was the smile that Miyako had fallen in love with long ago. Her heart began to flutter, and as it became clear that Yuno intended to remain in the light embrace, Mikayo was certain that the butterflies would burst from her chest at any moment like a parasitic alien baby in all their gory glory. Certainly this was the happiness she could treasure above all else.

...o.o.o.o_..._

Smiling, Miyako returned to the present world from her reverie, realizing that the steps to the second floor of Hidamari were only a few strides away. The threatening storm around her was starting to become serious, and the beginnings of a drizzle had started, but it was paid no heed. She climbed the steps and approached her front door.

"Another night of bachelorhood, I guess." Miyako opened the door, stepping inside to find that the temperature of her apartment was quite miserable. Leaving the door open, she made her way to the roll-out bed that was still splayed out on the floor from the night before and plopped down to skillfully open her bag of shrimp crunchies.

"Why yes, you are delicious and crunchy, my little friends." Miyako crossed her legs and set the bag in the midst of them, munching on her snack fervently. It seemed she had forgotten her hunger over the course of her adventures that evening, but it wasn't particularly so important that she noticed. Rather, at this moment, she was noticing how much more fun it was to eat shrimp crunchies when Yuno was around.

The scenario had played through her head more then once the last few weeks. Every night she had noticed how much more fun, or enjoyable, or exciting it was to eat when Yuno was around, regardless of the menu. Perhaps it was because Yuno would always smile at her, or nod knowingly, when she was being a goofball. Perhaps it was because of the endorphins that raced through her system when she saw that Yuno was happy. Perhaps it was because of Yuno's magical presence, the one that Miyako had grown almost painfully accustomed to. The one that Miyako had become dependent on.

"It's a sad thing to think that a short little girl could do that to me." Miyako mused, dazed by the heat and her contemplations. She almost felt as though she should chastise herself for succumbing to the fondness she had held for Yuno since day one. However, in retrospect, she couldn't bear to stand the thought of not having Yuno. It was not an answer on the closed-book test called Life.

"I was never like this. This year..." The artificially colored, shrimp-flavored, machine processed and prepackaged life of another shrimp crunchie ended with a satisfying snap, overcoming the sound of the blowing wind and rain outside for a brief moment. "This year things changed, didn't they."

Miyako couldn't particularly put her finger on _why_, or _how_, but it was definitely clear with regards to _what _when it came to identifying that which had transpired in her heart over the recent spring. Saying goodbye to Hiro and Sae had been hard, but it wasn't life-shattering. It wasn't the end of the world. Miyako stood and made her way to the kitchenette, curry ramen in hand.

_"No, but..." _ Miyako found her only pot, fortunately clean, and filled it with water. She set it on the stove and carefully adjusted the ingenious knob that controlled the gas throttling. The ignition system activated, the sound of the spark thrower offering a crackling and strangely calming sound. Alien technology sure was wonderful. Checking that it had lit properly with a youthful enthusiasm for fire, Miyako leaned against the refrigerator she knew was empty and devoid of anything edible.

Miyako's mind roamed to her previous thoughts, but she didn't let them continue. Surely they belonged in the part of her mind that she denied even from herself. A place where she kept other unpleasant thoughts underneath the upper strata of her consciousness. A place where depressing notions could stay in the dark so they wouldn't upset her. So she could be the Miyako that never knew a worry or a doubt.

"That Miyako was killed by Vikings. They pillaged the villages. Scoundrels. Sae and Hiro will pay for donning their traitorous seal." Miyako glanced uninterestedly at the water on the stove. The happy go-lucky person that never needed such a dark recess in her heart, in her mind... She had been smashed like a longboat against jagged rocks and coral when her seniors had left. She had made off with the most important treasure she had, as best as she could, but now... She was stuck in reality now. No longer could she plunder the great seas of youth with impunity.

But she could certainly try. It seemed like a much better option then pouting about what she didn't have.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 3**__ is scheduled for June 29th.  
_  
**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Seeking Beta Readers** Please send a message via ffnet.


	4. Chapter 3

A breeze blew through the apartment as another crack of thunder rolled across the floorboards, filling the warm air of the room with a calming calamity: a somewhat pleasant disturbance that seemed to push bothersome thoughts to the back of one's mind while still shaking the very brain meats that resided in the head of said individual. The interruption was short however, and as the booming cacophony of the thunder faded, the sound of rain falling on the roof of the complex resumed. The cascading sheets of water drowned out the softer noises of Hidamari, much like the wind blowing past one's ears as they stretched their head outside the window of a car driving quite fast on the open highway.

The harsh downfall was pleasant to hear. It was as if it made the evening heat feel a little cooler; a little more bearable for the life of the human being inside the relatively watertight room. Yet amidst the watery chaos surely there was death and destruction. Surely the fierce rain was threatening the life of many small insects and their families of non-consequential and not very cute maggot children. Amidst the tiny and nearly mute hissing screams of those insects and their dying young, however, a human being could enjoy the sound of the rain as it lulled ones senses into calmness; ones consciousness into a state of peaceful slumber. The rampant destruction of the rain on the insect kingdom was in retrospect, a wonderful way to fall asleep in the kingdom of humankind.

"Ah, I love the rain." Miyako mumbled to herself as she lazed about on her roll out bed, half-naked and still dirty. Her arms and legs were spread wide, and the white fabric of her underwear reflected the faint light from the incandescent bulb over the kitchenette. Evidence of shrimp crunchie genocide could be found among the covers of her bedding, but it wasn't paid much attention. The feast had ended. Sayonara, shrimp crunchies. The day that ended them would certainly continue in their absence. The day that didn't seem to want to end for Miyako would drone on a bit more.

It was the day that she was supposed to have spent with Yuno. The day in which she was prepared to ignore her feelings for the tiny girl, tucking them away much like a thick long-sleeved shirt that she loved but couldn't wear because it was summer. She would hide her feelings away and just enjoy the presence of the delightful high schooler, just enjoy that cute smile and endearing personality. Enjoy those sparkling eyes that shone in the dark, and those soft lips that moved so nicely whenever the playful munchkin spoke.

"It would be great if there was a remote control for this thing inside my head." Miyako rolled over onto her side and stared out the window. The dim lights of the neighborhood glimmered in the falling rain, and light reflected off of wet leaves as the wind blew boughs to and fro. "Next channel! Volume down! Oh oh, mute! Off button! The power of infrared compels you."

The rain outside was nice. Miyako closed her eyes as her mind wandered back to the memory from before. The memory of when Yuno snuggled up to her in the rain as they walked home together. The basic cornerstone, out of all her memories, that alluded to Yuno being in love with her.

...o.o.o.o_..._

"Ah, it's so wet out!" Yuno exclaimed as they reached the apartments, still leaning into Miyako's warm side. Her cheeks were a little flushed, though she had a pleasant smile on her face even as she complained about the weather. Even though the day had been a mess and the recent world had been a little darker than usual.

"We can skip a bath tonight!" Miyako added excitedly, one arm still over Yuno's shoulder and the other holding Yuno's umbrella. Her misplaced enthusiasm was a nice addition to the dreary afternoon. "Mother Nature has graced us with free time!"

"It doesn't work like that, Miya-chan." Yuno scolded lightly as they began their ascent up the steps to the second level. "We were even outside today for school! I'm all icky and I'd imagine you are too."

Miyako smiled, even as she begrudgingly released her hold of Yuno's shoulder to fold in the umbrella. It was a shame to let go of her dear Yuno, but certainly she didn't need to be pushy. Yuno was going to make her soba, and they would spend the evening together. And, for the most part, every evening after that too.

"Oh, am I icky?" Miyako said teasingly, "Is that all you have to say to me after I so graciously walked you home?"

"No..." Yuno began, self-consciously shifting away from Miyako, "But you do smell. And your hair is greasy. And... and... I'm your friend and I can tell you this truthfully!"

"Oh, truthfully is it?" Miyako dug through her pockets for the key to her apartment. Finding it, she unlocked the door and dropped her things next to her slippers. "Truthfully, you are smelly, your hair is greasy, and you don't smell like the shampoo you normally use. And you spoiled my excuse to skip a bath." Miyako closed the apartment door and the procession continued toward Yuno's room.

"Well, yes, I did. And my shampoo has nothing to do with this." Yuno replied, pulling out her own key. "It just feels nice to be clean."

"Correction: It feels nice when the people you are with are clean. So this means you have to take a bath."

"Then... Then..." Yuno opened her door and entered the small apartment. It was much like it had been before Sae and Hiro had left the building, though with perhaps a few extra dishes. "If you want to be with me then you better clean up!"

It took Miyako a few moments to respond as she enjoyed Yuno's choice of words. She grinned slyly and sidled up to the excitable girl as they took off their shoes.

"What if I choose not to wash? Yunocchi wouldn't deprive me of soba, right? Yunocchi wouldn't deprive me of my love, right?" Miyako put on a serious face and turned to Yuno, placing her hands on the small girl's shoulders. "It's a lonely world out there without the satisfaction of..."

"Food isn't the only important thing you know." Yuno scolded, her lips turning up into a smile immediately there-after. "I'm glad you like my soba though. We had it when I first moved in, didn't we?"

"Yup, it was delicious!" Miyako beamed, releasing her hold of Yuno and bouncing over to the bed to plop face forward on to the soft covers. Sighing, she rolled face up and grinned. Yuno could be naive, Yuno could miss her deceptive words that could be taken more than one way, but it was okay. Yuno was Yuno, a gem of a girl in a strange world. A strange world that would never see what she saw in the kind-hearted spirit of the amazing girl she called Yunocchi.

Well, they would never see it because Yuno was hers. All hers.

...o.o.o.o_..._

"Yunocchi... Ah, yes, the pasta, Yunocchi..." Miyako mumbled, rolling around in her bedding half-asleep as she snuggled the spare pillow that Yuno usually used. It vaguely smelled of Yuno's shampoo. Miyako had learned of the enticing, comforting fragrance over the course of the last several months and had since acquired the habit of cuddling the pillow. Rolling onto the floorboards, Miyako awoke to find the rather hard floor against her cheek.

"Ah, noodles on the floor."

Opening her eyes, Miyako rolled back over on to her bed and stared at the ceiling. The air in the room was still warm and humid, though not nearly as bad as it had been when Miyako first dozed off to sleep at some indiscernible time not long ago. Her best recollection of the final moments before falling asleep consisted of memories of an inner struggle to stop herself from calling Yuno's cellphone. That and the memories of her event-less, processed-food dinner. Surely the vengeful shrimp crunchie spirits were haunting her dreams now.

A somewhat cool breeze blew in from the open sliding doors at the rear of Miyako's room, though it no longer carried with it the sound of falling rain. Imagining that the storm must have passed, Miyako turned her head to peer outside. The streetlights were alight, however they only revealed a marginal amount of the exterior perimeter. It was quiet, and the city was deep asleep, much like Miyako wanted to be at this particular moment.

_"Surely the foul spirits of the shrimp crunchies have cursed me with sleeplessness. Of all the nights to do such a thing."_

Miyako gazed out the doors. It was hard enough to fall asleep in the first place, and now that she was awake again the gears in her mind were beginning to turn. Surely they already had enough momentum to keep her mind buzzing for another endless hour.

"You know, shrimp crunchie spirits, I will buy another bag of your family members and eat them too," Miyako threatened aloud to the noiseless audience of ethereal snack food that presently bedeviled her room. "For 119 yen I can consume an entire village's worth of your kind. Keeping me awake will only bring you more trouble."

Miyako's challenge was met with silence, and as the minutes of quiet reverie droned on, she sighed. Not even the voices of the carbohydrate spirit world wanted to talk to her, it seemed.

Occasionally in the past there had been nights like this. Every once in awhile there would be a restless sleep, and then by some accident of awakening, Miyako's brain would be switched on at some strange hour of the deep night. Usually, when she found herself in such situations, there would be things to occupy her mind with. Multiple things, in fact.

Homework, recent interesting events, Yoshinoya's antics... They were a good place to start. Miyako could usually run school days through her mind and have something interesting to think about. However, there wasn't much of a chance to think about recent school days because simply put: there were none. There also hadn't been a school function for a few weeks as far as she knew, and perhaps even if there had been some random event that Miyako was obliged to attend, she didn't.

Miyako had good reason to ignore such opportunities because Yuno wasn't available to attend. Not only had the girl left for summer break, her parents had even specifically made sure that she could and would stay home for the three weeks she spent away from Hidamari. Miyako, nor Yuno for that matter, knew the exact details of the arrangement. All that could be summarized from what Yuno had shared was the fact that Yuno's parents wanted to spend time with their daughter.

Now that Miyako thought about it, she was certain that there must have been some school function over the summer break. Wasn't there some kind of a summer festival? That she always went to? Maybe that wasn't a school function... Miyako wasn't so sure, besides it was too late now. Seniors were probably exempt from participation anyways.

_"Seniors..." _ Miyako's thoughts shifted suddenly. She used to be able to let her mind wander with regards to them; to think about Hiro and Sae sometimes. She could daydream about Hiro's cooking and salivate over their next meal together, or perhaps plan something strange to say to Sae to embarrass her in front of Hiro. Over the course of the last fall season she had relished in taking the liberty of making fun of Sae and her wordless fondness for Hiro. Yuno had probably been oblivious to the unfolding romance of their seniors, but Miyako had managed to catch on pretty fast, especially during the later parts of their second year at Hidamari. The year when her own romantic and possibly sexual nature became apparent, at least to her.

Regardless, Hiro and Sae were gone, leaving Miyako seniorless and feeling perhaps a little vulnerable, even if she didn't admit it. Without school or seniors to think about, there was really only one other thing that Miyako liked to occupy her mind with during sleepless nights: Yuno. In particular, since the small girl slept next door, Miyako had come to appreciate listening for the rustling sound of a Yuno-monster in her natural habitat. It was perhaps a little bit creepy to think that she eavesdropped on the assorted noises emitted from Yuno's late night movements on a somewhat regular basis, but Miyako had always figured it did no harm.

It was nice to hear the pitter-patter of Yuno's small feet on the floorboards, or the running water of the kitchen sink when she was thirsty. It was nice to hear the aspiring artist putting in a long night of work, trying to finish up a school project with intense dedication, even when her creativity and energy failed her. It was nice to know that Yuno was next door. To know that the girl she had come to admire and adore over the years was only a few meters away. To know that she could run over at any moment and see her precious face. The face that always shone with a bit of sunshine, even when she was upset.

Miyako grumbled and rolled over onto her side. All she had to think about was the sandy-haired thief that stole her heart. The thief that smuggled an extra day away from Hidamari. The thief named Yuno, the one she enjoyed being near, thinking of and listening to on restless summer nights.

_"She'll be back tomorrow,"_ Miyako told herself. It was a prerecorded message that kept playing, right alongside the rest of the thoughts running through her mind about Yuno. _"She's too naive, she's happy already, I'm happy already."_

That's a lie.

_"No, you want more. You are happy but you want more, so you aren't happy. Why can't you be happy with what you have? Why does this have to be complicated? It can just stay uncomplicated."_

That's a lie too.

_"This track list is getting old."_ Miyako closed her eyes, rolling onto her back so she could spread her limbs. Fleeting thoughts of picking up her cellphone to call Yuno crossed through her mind, but she let them go. It was far to late to disturb Yuno, especially since little Miss Responsible would be up bright and early in a few hours.

Yes, it was maybe only six or seven hours total before she would see Yuno again. She would meet her at the train station at a relatively early time in the morning. The small and sometimes hard to spot high schooler would step off the train, sleepily looking around for a lively tuft of blond hair sticking out somewhere. Miyako was good at spotting the munchkin, and so she would see Yuno first, and they would run to meet each other. She would take the delicate girl in her arms and give her a great big hug and tell her how she missed her, perhaps by means of some metaphor so as not to embarrass the harmless, bashful Yuno-monster.

It was certainly a pleasant thought.

Normally Yuno would have made her way back to Hidamari on her own, but Miyako had insisted to meet her at the station this year. Yuno hadn't particularly made a fuss about being met at the platform either. Rather than begin to pout that it was unnecessary, she had only smiled shyly and looked away, murmuring sweetly that it was okay. As such, Miyako fondly remembered the agreement, and more specifically, the pleasant look in Yuno's shining eyes.

_"Well, of course she would say yes. It's our last year." _Miyako thought suddenly, the notion passing though her consciousness before she could stop herself. A notion that was supposed to stay in the dark corners of her mind, but it was too late. It was free now. Free to incite the rest of the dark matter lurking in her gray matter, like a barrage of protons haphazardly colliding with unstable nuclei.

_"Our last year,"_ Miyako clenched the bedding into her hands as the stress of the realization reared its ugly head out from under the covers of denial. The beast that had grown into a monster was gnawing at her. It was her fault for letting it grow. It was her fault for hiding it, but she didn't know what to do. Ever since Sae and Hiro left, it had been biting away at her, and now... Now she couldn't ignore the pain anymore. Now the sharp teeth were savoring the delicate flesh of her heart. Yuno's absence over the last few weeks had simply been too difficult to handle, but that was just the start.

Sae and Hiro were gone, their time at Hidamari was over. Now the days ticked away on her own time. Her own life as it was at Hidamari. A life with Yuno... Now quickly falling like sand through an hourglass to a deadly pit of spikes below.

What happened? Miyako couldn't grasp how everything had suddenly become so black and white, how her friendship with Yuno had turned into something else, something more, so quickly. It was only a few months ago that she was peacefully managing her affection for Yuno, and now... Now it was all different. Even the first week of Yuno's absence during the break was bearable in a terrible way, even yesterday too... But when Yuno had called to inform her of the change of plans... It had been like removing the wrong piece from a tower of Jenga tiles. It was simply too much.

Miyako was cracking.

Up until recently, everything had been funny to her. Everything could be made into a joke. Everything could be laughed off, cast off, and sloughed off. Everything could be overcome with some random dorky humor, a good meal and a good nights sleep.

But not this.

...o.o.o.o_..._

After three weeks of being apart, the day of their reunion is upon us! Stay tuned for Chapter 4!

_**Sunshine: Chapter 4**__ is scheduled for July 6th._

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	5. Chapter 4

Sunlight mingled with the warm, muggy morning air as it blew through the screen door. Grasshoppers were already overheating in the powerful rays, creating a racket with their fragile bodies: An incessant yet nostalgic noise that was rather unsettling and almost loud enough to drown out the sound of cars as they occasionally drove by. If one with keen ears listened closely enough, olfactory senses permitting, they would surely hear and smell the sizzling of two sunny-side up eggs on the asphalt. If one went to inspect this strange occurrence, they would surely find that the aforementioned ova were not only cooking in a delicate and savory mixture of refined crude oil, but also that the tasty yellow centers of the meal were unfortunately quite spoiled.

"Nooo, the yolks are broken!" Miyako sat up suddenly, her eyes wide open with fear. Certainly there was no dream more terrifying. Certainly the gods had cursed her slumber. First it was the heat, then it was the shrimp crunchies, and now it was...

"It all makes sense. Shrimp crunchies. This is your doing. This is the end." Miyako fell back into her sweat-dampened bedding, only to roll over to peer at her clock. She had not set the alarm the night before, though it seemed like it would not have made a difference. She still had a little under an hour before she had to be out the front door. Or perhaps over the rear balcony with a deft and skillful leap, like an overexcited officer of the law escaping from a second story doughnut shop robbery.

_"Oh, right. Yunocchi."_ Her time awake in the middle of the previous night certainly had not been far from a living nightmare, and while it wasn't the end of the world, it was not a night of concerns that one could put to rest so easily. It would not simply disappear with a light meal or two, or a fake smile and a half-day's worth of drawing. Miyako sighed. _"Well, she is coming back today, so take it easy."_

Standing at last, Miyako gazed at her ruffled and dirty bedding. It was overdue for a cleaning, but it could perhaps wait for another day. Today was the day to spend with her dearest. Morning, afternoon, evening... Miyako wanted every second to be with Yuno. Yuno and the accompanying meals that seemed to follow in her wake. Yuno and the nostalgic hair clips holding back her wonderfully smelling hair. Yuno and the fresh scent of a recent shower and bath...

"Oh," Miyako smelled her armpits needlessly, "I smell bad. Like death."

Yuno would certainly chastise her for smelling like she hadn't taken a bath in three days. Certainly the small girl would punish her with a disapproving glance, eyes watering as the acrid smell of soiled clothing and sticky skin reached her nose. There would be a scolding, and Miyako would have to look playfully downtrodden as the dominate motherly spirit of Yuno rose to unleash a cute and rather pleasing wrath. Yes, certainly she wouldn't want to incite the dreaded Yuno-monster...

_"But it does sound kind of nice in a perverted way..."_ Miyako mused, making her way to the small bathroom of her apartment. The last time Yuno had been upset with her over cleanliness was the same time as that evening they had shared an umbrella together. Miyako smiled as she turned the knob of the hot water faucet; it was a rather pleasant memory.

...o.o.o.o...

"I get it, Yunocchi! I'm going!" Miyako exclaimed, her tone playfully upset. Yuno had made it quite clear that she wasn't getting soba without first cleaning up. _"Well, if that's what Yunocchi wants of me, that's what Yunocchi will get!" _Fumbling to undo her school uniform, she took several steps towards the bathroom under Yuno's watchful gaze, waiting for the excitable high schooler to say something.

"Eh?" Yuno began, closing the door to the refrigerator as she focused her attention on Miyako. After several moments of silence it finally became clear to her that Miyako had no intentions of going back to her own room. "Miya-chan! You have your own bathroom! How am I supposed to clean up if you are in mine!"

"Oh, she found me out!" Miyako said aloud, scurrying through the bathroom door and out of sight. "Yunocchi is a bright one today!"

"Miya-chan! That's mean, I'm not dumb!" Yuno dashed in pursuit, entering the bathroom and peeking in to find a nearly bare Miyako already running the hot water. Whether it was because she was embarrassed to have a guest in her bathroom, or because Miyako was quickly becoming nude, or because Miyako was particularly playful in only the way that she could be, Yuno blushed and suddenly found herself at a lack of words.

"You said we should wash," Miyako said matter-of-factly, "I thought this was part of the plan, right?"

Fidgeting slightly, Yuno turned away from Miyako and looked at the ceramic tiles that made up the floor of the bathroom. Miyako could sense she was thinking about something, but pretended to not notice. She was pretty good at coming off as someone that didn't think too hard about things, but on the other hand, perhaps Yuno was used to her antics by now. Miyako smiled, dropping the rest of her clothing to the floor. Perhaps the semantics didn't really matter. The only element of the equation that really mattered was Yuno.

"Yunocchi?" Miyako said softly, turning to face her favorite person. Yuno was still quiet, though the red in her face seemed to have abated a bit. "What's the matter?"

It wasn't uncommon for Yuno to suddenly become quiet, and in retrospect lately it had been a rather common occurrence. Ever since Sae and Hiro had left, Yuno had been having moments of silence on a regular basis. Miyako would of course notice them, and with a smile she would sidle up to the quiet girl and give her a hug, or put a hand on her shoulder, or say something so completely ridiculous she was sure to get a reaction out of Yuno. No matter what, Miyako knew that she could put a smile on Yuno's face as long as she was just herself. Just the Miyako that didn't know what personal boundaries were, the Miyako that wasn't ashamed of anything.

This Yuno was different from the normal quiet Yuno though. Miyako couldn't particularly place it, and so rather than understanding how to deal with the situation, she began to handle it out of instinct. Perhaps it was a bit strange for Miyako to have a tender, understanding side on the surface in a moment like this, but Miyako and Yuno both knew better than to think that. Miyako was the most tender, genuine person Yuno knew, after all.

"Hey, Miya-chan..." Yuno started, her hands reaching up to undo the hairclips in her sandy blonde hair. Taking them into her hand with practiced ease, she clipped them onto her uniform. "What's going to happen when we graduate?" Knowingly giving in to Miyako's simple desires, she sighed and proceeded to remove her school uniform.

_"Yunocchi," _Miyako's face twitched slightly as she quickly buried another mountain of sad thoughts, though Yuno didn't particularly see the work of magic. Miyako didn't want her to see, either. She was supposed to be the one that always smiled, the one that always had a positive outlook. She was supposed to be the hydrogen in Yuno's solar core. Yuno's sudden directness, while not completely unexpected, was quite heavy. Heavier than the helium from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms, and certainly out of place for the normally shining girl.

"Well, when we graduate... I hope something nice happens," Miyako replied at last, making her way over to Yuno's side. "You know, we'll probably even go to the same school!"

"Miya-chan, I thought money was tight for college. Even just getting a cellphone this year was difficult." Yuno said simply, a hint of despair in her voice. Her uniform slipped to the floor with an event-less ruffling noise. She was sure that Miyako was watching her undress, but she didn't care. It was just Miyako after all. "The last time I asked you, you said that you may not be able to afford it. Or your parents couldn't afford it, or something."

"Well, I guess that means I am getting a job and sharing a place with you then!" Miyako said excitedly with a genuine smile. It was a nice thought. Even if she didn't have the money for school, she could certainly get a job and be around the bundle of Yuno-monster goodness. Certainly that would be sufficient, and maybe she could save up enough to go to school. Yes, that was a good plan.

"Eh?" Yuno looked up, the sadness having been replaced on her face by a look of curiosity. She seemed oblivious to the fact that she was originally arguing over sharing a bath, though of course her bathmate wasn't complaining. "Wouldn't your parents object to that? I might even be going to school farther away from home than Hidamari."

Moving to gather up the last of their clothing as Yuno finished undressing, Miyako smiled somewhat mischievously. Silly parents, they couldn't keep her from Yuno.

"That's a cute thought," Miyako tossed the clothes outside of the bathroom and shut the door. "You know, they don't really care."

That was a pretty honest summation of Miyako's parents, too. If they had really cared she might not have ended up at Yamabuki with a bunch of crazy art students like she did.

"Why? Aren't they your parents? Aren't they responsible for your education?" Yuno asked, sitting down on the bathroom stool at Miyako's gesture. She smiled, remembering the first time she had met Miyako, and how they had shared a bath time together. How Miyako had taken control of the situation so easily and given her peace.

"They won't keep me from doing what I want, though they may not always support me," Miyako replied, taking a body sponge in her hand and lathering it with soap. It had been a while since she had the opportunity to wash Yuno in any degree, and this time her skin was perhaps even more beautiful than before.

"That's kind of sad if your parents don't support you," Yuno admitted softly, closing her eyes. It was hard to feel bashful around Miyako when it was like this, especially if they were alone. After having spent so much time together, Miyako's closeness with her was almost an everyday occurrence. Certainly there was no harm done, not to mention it made Miyako happy. "Well, I'll support your decisions."

"I'm counting on you for that, Yunocchi."

...o.o.o.o...

Miyako glanced back at her alarm clock as she put on a relatively clean t-shirt to go with her relatively clean shorts. She had perhaps spent too much time in the bathroom, but too late now.

"Hmm, I need to leave," Miyako mumbled quietly to herself as she fished around in a pile of dirty clothes for her house key and cellphone. The last thing she wanted was to be late for Yuno's arrival at the station, though she imagined that at her present pace she would make it just in time.

Slipping on a pair of sandals, Miyako headed out the front door and made her way to the street at a lively pace. The daze of her recent shower was fading quickly now; the memories she had recollected of her last bath with Yuno wandering away into the recesses of her mind. Yuno's imminent return rose to the surface of her thoughts, right along with the realization that it was indeed quite warm outside. Way too warm outside.

"Yunocchi!" Miyako exclaimed suddenly, smiling. Only a few more minutes now. Only a scant amount of time to go before the precious girl was back at Hidamari, back at home. Skipping down the sidewalk like a preteen with a lollipop, the train platform came into view rather quickly. Miyako would have said several things in happiness, vocalizations of random thoughts as they flittingly crossed her mind, but right now there were none.

A strange, nervous peace had descended on Miyako, and now rather than a barrage of useless information, she was really only quite aware of a couple things. Predominantly that included her heart in her chest as it beat rapidly, frantically. It was uncommon for it to beat as such, and so at times like this Miyako couldn't help but notice. She couldn't help but wonder just how much of an affect Yuno really had on her being.

"Oh, it's serious!" Miyako proclaimed as she reached the foot of the steps leading up to the platform. She checked her cellphone. Five minutes. Five minutes and her hand was shaking slightly, and there was sweat in her palms. Her legs were jitttering a little, amazing considering the speed at which she had managed to arrive at the station. Her hair was still a bit wet from being washed not more than thirty minutes prior. Miyako checked her cellphone again. No messages from Yuno and five minutes to go.

_"Maybe she got a cute haircut!"_ Miyako wondered to herself, trying to envision what kind of style Yuno might have picked. Certainly it would be short, and there would be hairclips on either side, and it would be cute. Yes, cute like Yuno's hair always was, even when it was messy. And her hair would be sandy blonde, like always. Cute and sandy blonde and smelling nice. _ "Oh, she probably took a bath last night, her hair probably smells nice!"_

Miyako sighed, and returning from her daydreams, began ascending the steps leading to the platform. The amazing Yuno delivery service place that she would find Yuno in what must be... Miyako checked her cellphone. Four minutes. Four minutes and Yuno would be on the Yuno delivery service platform, her cute eyes peering around for a familiar face. Her nicely smelling hair blowing in the gentle breeze. Yes, the hair she washed last night. With nicely smelling shampoo.

"Hopeless, hopeless..." Miyako groaned happily, bouncing up the last few steps. "What's Yunocchi going to do with me? I have way too much... Oh there's like no one here!"

_"Well, energy was never a problem in the past." _Miyako glanced around, finding the station to be rather empty. An older lady occupied a bench on the far side, but otherwise no one was around. _"Well, it isn't quite time for school yet so of course it's going to be empty."_

It was pretty warm outside, especially for the morning, and Miyako was sure the temperature had risen since she left the apartments. Wondering if there was a temperature readout in the electronic display that scrolled arrival information overhead, Miyako glanced up to find the bright red LEDs happily blinking away.

"Hmm... I don't think there is a temperature reading..." Miyako gazed at the mesmerizing display of information, transfixed as she realized that Yuno's train would be displayed eventually. She quickly forget about the temperature completely. "Oh, there there! 10:09 arrival! One minute late! How could they! Noooo, Yunocchi stuck on a disabled train car! Those criminals!"

"_It's so hot..."_ Miyako looked at her cellphone even though the readout had just clearly displayed the current time moments before. Including the time delay... Two minutes. Two more long, terrible minutes of summer heat. Between her rather rapid heartbeat, the humidity, and the glaring morning Sun, Miyako was already sweating far more than usual.

"Yunocchi you owe me for this. The heat... So hot..." Miyako shuffled over to find a bit of shade as the old lady on the far end of the platform glanced curiously at her. "Oh wait, you have air conditioning! We can go to your place and have air conditioning!" The notion that Miyako could escape the heat for the rest of summer break was... beautiful. So perfectly beautiful. Yuno could pay her back for the morning escort with a week of daily air conditioning.

The sound of an incoming train could be heard now, and Miyako's ears perked to listen intently. Maybe it wasn't late after all. Making her way close to the edge of the tracks, Miyako peered down the rail corridor cautiously.

"Ah, there it is! The heat, the heat! The train, the train! At this rate... Yunocchi might be in time to save me. She might be able to save me..." Miyako fidgeted as she backed up from the edge, a smile spreading across her face. The brakes of the train could be heard now as it began to slow, and before Miyako had time to even think the two silver train cars were directly in front of her. The main hatchway opened, and an attendant stepped out onto the platform.

"Yamabuki!"

Miyako's fidgeting continued without her knowledge as she watched intently for a sign of the elusive Yuno-monster. A few unknown people walked out of the car, but not a Yuno. Not yet. Miyako took a few steps forward, and the attendant began to step back through the hatchway. _ "Wait... He's not supposed to get back on board..."_

"Nooo! Where's my Yunocchi!" Now at a full speed dash, Miyako ran to where the man had just stood, peering anxiously inside for signs of her dearest. Her heart was beating horribly fast, but she didn't notice. There was no time to notice.

There was no sign of the man nor Yuno in the small access hallway. Muffled voices came from beyond, from within the car. They were shortly followed by a ruffle and a thud of something heavy against the floor. Miyako peered in closer, certain that the car wasn't going to begin to move. Especially not with the doors open. Especially not with an innocent Miyako halfway on-board.

"Excuse me miss, I'll need you to wait on the platform," requested the attendant as he reappeared, and Miyako cautiously took a few steps back as the man stepped back out onto the platform.

Three seconds passed. The slowest three seconds that Miyako had ever lived in her whole life, and when they came to a sudden and abrupt end Miyako spied a sandy colored lock of hair poking out from behind the relatively short attendant.

_"She's so short..."_ Miyako mused happily, but her thoughts ended there. There simply wasn't enough time to think about anything else. As soon as the darling girl came into view, Miyako had no room left in her thoughts for any words or notions or ideas. There was no room for space aliens, for artwork, for even food. Just... Yuno.

"Yunocchi!" Miyako blurted suddenly.

Yuno's face lit up with recognition, and with an apparent lack of restraint she dashed off of the train, luggage in tow nipping at her heels as it flew from the car onto the platform. As soon as Yuno was half aware that her belongings were no longer on the train, she released her hold of the handle and plowed into the smiling blonde without a second thought.

"Miya-chan!" Yuno exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Miyako tightly. "Miya-chan my phone died so I couldn't tell you!"

"Oh, what is it Yunocchi?" Miyako replied, her heart still beating fast as she returned Yuno's embrace. It was curious though... Of all the days, today Yuno's voice was... worried. Certainly it wasn't simply because her cell phone was dead?

"Eh, umm... Well... You see... My keys..." Yuno began hesitantly, fidgeting in Miyako's arms uncomfortably as the train pulled away.

"Oh, don't you have your keys?" Miyako wondered aloud, bringing a hand up to Yuno's head and ruffling her hair slightly. Yuno was so cute when she was worried. How could there possibly be a problem when Yuno was so cute?

Yuno took a half-step back from Miyako and looked up at her with eyes that almost brimmed with tears. "I kind of locked them inside the house... I brought my luggage outside and shut the door, and the lock on the door knob was locked already, and I thought I had my keys, and and... I didn't. And my parents are gone, and I was supposed to make sure everything was okay, and I wasn't able..."

Miyako dragged her fingers through the hair on the back of Yuno's head. "It'll be okay Yunocchi, I'm sure you'll get your keys back. The burglars won't steal your keys when they rob the house."

"Miya-chan!" Yuno replied unhappily, "That's mean!"

Miyako took her hand out of Yuno's hair and set it on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay, it's only a few days. It's not like a deadbolt would stop a real robber anyways," Miyako offered intelligently, and Yuno nodded as she dropped her head to look at the concrete platform. Moving to pick up Yuno's fallen luggage from the platform, Miyako grabbed it by the handle and turned back to Yuno. "Let's go home so you can charge your phone."

"I guess that's a good idea. I need to call the landlady and ask her to open my apartment again. She is probably sick of me by now," Yuno said unenthusiastically. She unconsciously roamed next to Miyako as they made their way towards the handicap ramp.

"Well, about that..." Miyako began, looking up into the sky. "You see, the landlady, well..."

"What? Is she okay?" Yuno asked suddenly, peering towards Miyako intently, "She wasn't taken away by the police was she? Did they finally find her out? They confiscated everything! Oh, I warned her... I warned her! Miya-chan! We're homeless now, aren't we?"

"Likely story, but not quite. The landlady is away until school starts," Miyako explained simply, smiling as the realization suddenly dawned her that her time with Yuno would be more than expected over the next week. "So you're just homeless until she comes back. You may need to find a place to stay."

"Umm, Miya-chan..." Yuno started sweetly, "There doesn't happen to be a vacancy at your place, or something?"

"Hmm, well..." Miyako began in a mock serious tone, "We are totally booked, and things are a bit messy, but I suppose... If you don't mind... You can share a bed with this art student I know..."

"She doesn't bite, does she?"

"A little, actually."

"Miya-chan! No biting!" Yuno replied excitedly, leaning into Miyako with a smile. "Thanks for letting me stay."

"My pleasure! Anything for Yunocchi. We'll sort the key stuff out when your parents are back."

Miyako had a hard time imagining that the day could have started off any better. Certainly Yuno had forgotten her keys, her cellphone was dead, and she had been through a rough morning of needless worry. Miyako had had a rough, sleepless night. In the end it was okay though. It was perfectly okay. Perhaps, even if there was anything she could possibly want right now to make the day better...

"Oh, right. No air conditioning. I was looking forward to that. You crushed my dreams!"

"I'm sorry Miya-chan! I'll buy you ice cream!" Yuno was clearly prepared to handle Miyako's personality after three weeks with her parents.

"Oh, fast! Yunocchi wins the round in one breath!" Miyako replied happily, and she swung an arm around Yuno's shoulders. "It's just you and me, kid."

_"You and me and a week of summer adventures, just us,"_ Miyako thought to herself, smiling.

"I'm not a kid!"

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 5**__ is scheduled for July 13th._

**K-ON!: "My First" Announced**  
Please see my profile to read the prologue and check release dates.

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta: **Kuchibiru


	6. Chapter 5

"Miya-chan, I'm melting..." Yuno moaned as they approached the apartments. The cloudless sky offered no protection from the burning sun, and the mild wind was almost too warm to be of any relief. Wilting next to the unbelievably happy Miyako, Yuno continued, "I can't believe you still don't have an air conditioner. Does the landlady not like you or something?"

"No no, I have cheap rent because I'm awesome. You know that," Miyako replied easily, Yuno's luggage still in tow and rolling along happily on the burning hot pavement. Thankfully the small girl only wore small clothes as her luggage was relatively light, but Miyako would have taken it for Yuno even if it was substantially heavier. Yuno would just have to cook more for dinner.

"That makes me feel kind of spoiled," Yuno mentioned softly as they reached the steps. She fished around for her room key out of habit, but of course it was not there. This situation would take a bit of getting used to, perhaps. She sighed in defeat as Miyako began to lift her belongings. "Oh, Miya-chan! It's okay, you don't have to go through the trouble."

"You weren't planning on bringing up your stuff in stages, were you?" Miyako replied knowingly, and with a smile she took the small suitcase in her arms and headed up the stairwell. She could be the knight for her maiden today. "You're the guest."

"And do guests normally buy ice cream for everyone?" Yuno started, and before Miyako had a chance to answer she continued, "What about buying groceries? What about cooking dinner? Don't tell me your cooking dinner tonight..."

"I was thinking about it..." Miyako began playfully as she took another step. Yuno was fun to tease, though she had seriously considered preparing something simple for her dear guest. Perhaps something like ramen with a random, unnameable green from the store. Of course, she had no money for food, so regardless of whether or not she cooked Yuno would still be footing the bill.

"Nooo! I'm cooking dinner!" Yuno declared loudly. She dashed up to the stairs to catch up to Miyako, who was already on the second floor. "I am absolutely cooking dinner and if you even think you're allowed to even light the stove there will be divine culinary retribution."

"But I like lighting the stove! That's like the most fun thing in the world! Yunocchi wouldn't deprive me of stove action!" Miyako made clicking noises with her tongue as she continued to drag Yuno's belongings behind her once more, taking the last few steps towards her apartment door. Opening it quickly, she kicked off her sandals and brought Yuno's things to rest by the bathroom.

"What if I let you light the stove then? Provided you don't burn the house down, what kind of payment should I expect to receive?" Yuno asked, closing the front door behind her as she entered Miyako's studio apartment. Her own sandals were off a moment later.

"Oh, I like this game!" Miyako exclaimed, turning around to face Yuno with a finger to her lips in thought. "Oh, hmm... What if I lit the stove without your permission, then what would the punishment be? Surely you've thought of that."

"I was actually getting the impression that you've thought this through a bit more than I have, and now I'm beginning to think I was right." Yuno said sweetly, a hint of sarcasm in her voice that was not bitter in the least.

_"Oh, she's so cute..."_ Miyako thought suddenly, and she bounced over to Yuno with a hopeful expression on her face, "I have! And you know what? I have some spare rope in the closet..."

"And the rope is for... what exactly?" Yuno asked, confused. Certainly Miyako had a purpose for the rope, but precisely what... Yuno couldn't begin to imagine. Perhaps the heat was getting to her. That and hours of solitary confinement in her room. "Do you want to... do yard work or something? I suppose that would be an appropriate punishment, but considering we don't really have a yard..."

_"Oh, Yuno." _ So cute. So sweet. Miyako didn't know if it was right to taint Yuno's innocence with her impure and vivid imagination, but today a succubus with a triple-pronged number two pencil and a face lacking makeup was speaking directly into her left ear rather loudly. Today was not the time for the restrictive trivialities of purity. Today should be the beginning of something wonderfully perverted.

"You can tie me up!" Miyako blurted happily, spinning around. By simple chance, she had found a curious way to tie up people the other day. It was a print-out of sorts that was strangely in her mailbox, and while it didn't have a return address or anything, it offered a rather pornographic example of how to tie up a girl. Normally Miyako had found pornographic material to be rather crude, even from the eyes of a perverse art student, yet the material she had received in the mailbox the other day clearly portrayed a rather artistic use of rope. Surely this could be passed off as an art project?_ "Yoshinoya-sensei would probably like it." _Miyako smirked.

"Miya-chan!" Yuno said worriedly, "What's so funny? Why would I do that? Is that even a punishment? Are you okay? I'm making tea right now!"

_"Oh, Yuno. You don't understand." _Miyako sighed and followed behind the rather worked-up Yuno. The smaller girl made her way to the cabinets that normally contained a scant amount of tea. Even when there was nothing else in the house remotely edible, Miyako somehow managed to keep a small amount stashed away, though part of this success was the fact that Miyako didn't drink tea so often.

Well, unless of course, Yuno prepared it.

"Why does everything have to be so high up!" Yuno moaned. Try as she might, she couldn't reach the knob on the cabinet that most likely contained a box or bag of tea. Bouncing up and down trying to open it, Yuno grumbled again. "Why can't you put things down lower!"

"It's cute when you struggle!" Miyako offered truthfully, only to receive an evil eye from Yuno immediately thereafter. Yuno wasn't letting her get away with anything today, though it wasn't like Yuno fully comprehended everything Miyako had insinuated. Her perverse undertones simply flew past Yuno's thoughts and mysteriously vanished.

Or did they? That was perhaps a scary thought. Maybe she had caught on from day one, and yet had never said anything. Maybe she had always played dumb, and she was a perfect actor, even when she was sleeping. Maybe this was part of some evil plan to tease Miyako. But certainly, Yuno was not that evil. Yuno didn't have a succubus whispering into her ear too, did she? Besides, Yuno teased her enough already, especially with her feisty attitude and all that cute jumping she liked to do.

"Miya-chan, why do I get the impression that you like it when I'm helpless? You're probably reveling in the fact I have no room keys and a dead cellphone, and there is no one else at Hidamari now and it's practically noon on a summer vacation day. This is like some perfect setup for a murder mystery novel," Yuno replied thoughtfully with another hint of sarcasm. "But I'm not that small! You're just mean!"

"Gah, Yunocchi has caught on!" Miyako stepped up to Yuno's side and gave her a hug with her left arm. "But honestly, if I didn't put things up so high, you wouldn't have to ask me for help."

"Then you're just desperate for attention," Yuno added softly, giving up the mock argument and leaning into Miyako's embrace. Yuno had been quick to notice that there was something different about Miyako today, but she had also been quick to pass it off as the peculiarities of being apart for three weeks. Last year's summer vacation had felt similar to this as well, though its intensity had certainly been less. Regardless, Yuno didn't mind the extra physical attention. A piece of her perhaps secretly wanted and expected it after her long awaited return to Hidamari. A wait that had, this year in particular, been rather unbearable.

"You know I don't help in the kitchen unless you ask me to. You are kind of protective of your workspace now that Hiro-senpai is gone," Miyako replied, reaching up to the cabinet that Yuno couldn't open, removing a small bag of loose leaf tea from within. "I'm not sure what kind of green tea this is, but..."

Yuno sighed and took the small bag from Miyako's hands, looking back up to the blonde haired girl with a troubled expression . It was hard enough to talk about their seniors now that they were gone, now that even their own parting from Hidamari was near, but the subject was somewhat tolerable when they were together. Miyako gave her another squeeze with her arm.

"It'll be okay. Let's have this unknown and possibly genetically mutated green tea, Yunocchi. Even though it's hot outside and we're baking." Seeing a faint smile spread across Yuno's face, Miyako let the small girl go and and bent down to fish around for her barely functioning kettle, the one she hoped was still located in the same lower cabinet as before. How it was barely functioning was a mystery; the kettle merely seemed to be more fitting amongst her cookware with such a description. Finding the piece of antiquity, Miyako handed it to Yuno and leaned against the fridge.

"Oh, I can make it cold," Yuno offered, "you have ice cubes right? Your freezer works still?"

"That sounds good! Yunocchi is so smart!" Miyako replied happily, making her way over to the small table she had pushed to the side of the room. "I guess we need a table. I didn't know you were coming over so everything is messy."

"It wouldn't feel like Miya-chan's room without a bit of clutter though," Yuno said as she turned on a gas burner.

_"Ouch. She expects a messy room." _Miyako was ready to say something in retort, but words failed her as she looked up to Yuno. It was quite warm, things were a mess, and there was no food in the house, but it was okay. Yuno was standing several feet away with a smile on her face. She was beautiful. Nothing could really matter. Miyako grinned.

_"Quite serious this is," _Miyako mused to herself as she began to clear off the small table.

...o.o.o.o...

The afternoon heat had been broken by another storm, and rain fell plentifully outside of Miyako's studio. A cool wind blew through the open sliding door, bringing with it the nostalgic scent of wet streets. Even the humidity had abated after sunset, and now as the quiet, late evening descended upon Hidamari, it was actually quite pleasant.

Especially with a full belly. Dinner had been finished only just recently, and the remains of the meal were still noticeable on the small table that Miyako had cleaned off earlier for tea and lunch. Working furiously for what seemed like ages to Miyako's rumbling stomach, Yuno had prepared and treated Miyako to the best dinner she had had in weeks, though of course Yuno's cooking instantly ranked higher than any other.

"Yunocchi, that was delicious!" Miyako said happily, smiling across the table at Yuno. "I just wanted to tell you again."

"You seem to have missed my bad cooking," Yuno replied with a yawn, gathering the dinnerware on the table into a pile. "I haven't really made dinner for awhile."

"It's not bad! It's the best!" Miyako insisted energetically, wiggling her toes beneath the table contentedly to the beat of Jingle Bells. "I would be the best person to ask too! You're always making something tasty and I tend to be there to eat it."

"What exactly did you eat while I was away, anyways?" Yuno wondered as she returned her attention from the table back to Miyako. "You had food while you were away from here, but what about when you came back? What did you have for dinner?"

"I had a run in with a particularly nasty bunch of shrimp crunchies," Miyako explained simply. "Hardcore criminals of the processed food underground if you ask me."

"Miya-chan that's not dinner." Yuno scolded, moving to clear the table and bring the dishes to the sink. She reached across the table for Miyako's glass, however before she could remove it from the table Miyako had set a hand on hers.

"It's okay, you're tired. I'll do the dishes." Miyako took the glass from Yuno's hand along with the pile of dishes and made her way to the sink. Upon her return trip for the remainder of the dinner things, Miyako glanced at Yuno to find the small girl relaxed and resting her head on her arms on the table. "Yunocchi, you seem happy."

"Besides the fact you ate junk food last night, I am happy." Yuno replied with a slight mumble.

"You're not going to let me get away with that? Normally you do, you know..." Miyako cleared the rest of the table. There were of course no leftovers, and as such clean-up was merely washing several dishes and a small, barely functioning pot. In truth the pot was just stained, but that wasn't a creative enough way to describe a apparatus in an artist's den. Barely functioning or functionally decrepit were certainly much better descriptions. Miyako began to wash the dishes in the sink. "Yunocchi?"

"Miya-chan..." Yuno said softly from a short distance away, her small voice almost drowned out by the sound of the rain.

"You're pretty tired, aren't you." Miyako stated, glancing at Yuno for a moment. She returned her attention to the sink as she washed a plate. "Let me finish the dishes and we'll go to bed. You probably want to skip a bath too, right?"

"Do I smell bad?" Yuno asked without pretense, "If I do I'll clean up."

"Probably not worse than the bedding, actually." Miyako replied truthfully with a worried smile. She wondered how much grief Yuno would give her for not cleaning the sheets, but perhaps they were okay. They had only been slept on once since the last cleaning, and the concern would perhaps be the shrimp crunchie remains from the prior night's genocide, rather than the smell.

"Is that good or bad?" Yuno wondered aloud sleepily after several moments had elapsed.

"You smell nice Yunocchi, and the bedding should be okay." Miyako answered as she set the fourth to last dish on a towel to dry. "Give me a few more minutes, almost done."

If Yuno had replied, Miyako hadn't heard it. The sound of the rain was beginning to die down, so perhaps Yuno hadn't said anything. After several moments of relative quiet, Miyako set the last dish down to dry and turned off the faucet. She turned her attention back to Yuno as she made her way over to the dozing girl. It looked like she had fallen asleep at the table.

"Maybe a couple minutes was too much to ask," Miyako said quietly to herself. She smiled at the thought of Yuno's cuteness and began to unfurl her bedding in the middle of the room. Noticing a couple of crumbs still lingering on the top sheet, she brushed them off with her hand. A satisfactory scratch and sniff later, she stood up and glanced around.

"Pillows now, let's see..." Miyako found her pillows and inspected them for troublesome food, though fortunately they were pretty clean. She tossed them at the head of the bedding and stepped over to Yuno. "All set now, time for bed."

Yuno didn't respond, and Miyako gently set her hand on the sleepy girl's shoulder. "Yunocchi..."

"Oh, Miya-chan..." Yuno mumbled softly. "Bedtime?"

"Yes, do you want to change into pajamas?"

"Mine are... do you have something...?" Yuno asked in broken sentences, opening her eyes slightly. Perhaps she really had fallen asleep for a moment.

Miyako walked over to a small dresser and found a relatively plain t-shirt for Yuno. It was a little big for her, and so for the even smaller frame of Yuno, Miyako thought it would work nicely. As she made her way back over to the table, Miyako noticed that Yuno hadn't budged and her eyes had closed again. This had to be the most rewarding night ever. Surely it was worth waiting an extra day for Yuno to come back to Hidamari.

"Yunocchi, arms up." Miyako requested, and Yuno mumbled something in reply. "Hey now, I'm not going to go easy on you."

"Fine," Yuno said sleepily, lifting her head and arms from the table. With a deft and curiously practiced hand, Miyako removed Yuno's top and bra quickly, tossing them to the side. "You're probably enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Someone is thinking to much for being half-asleep." Miyako replied, slipping the t-shirt over Yuno carefully. "You're probably enjoying this too, aren't you?"

Yuno didn't say anything in reply, and rather she turned her tired gaze to Miyako. A moment passed in silence. There was something peaceful in Yuno's expression, but Miyako couldn't immediately place it.

"Here," Miyako reached a hand down to help Yuno up. "Come along sleepy head."

Yuno accepted the offer with her own hand, and after a heave she stood sleepily with Miyako's arm around her. Yuno undid the button on her shorts with a slow fumble, and they fell to the ground easily. Moments later Miyako had lead her to the bedding and there Yuno nearly collapsed, letting her head sink into the soft pillow with a soft exhale.

"Too much excitement in one day, I think." Miyako commented as she removed her outer clothing and changed into a t-shirt herself. As she walked back over to Yuno, she couldn't help but notice the priceless girl she would be sleeping next to that night. There was always something magical about the nights she spent with Yuno. Miyako laid down and rolled to face Yuno. Several moments passed quietly.

"Miya-chan, it's impossible to sleep when you're staring at me like that." Yuno mumbled, her eyes still closed and her back to Miyako.

"Yunocchi found me out!" Miyako admitted, "How did you know?"

"I guessed." Yuno replied softly, "You want attention, don't you?"

"Does that make two of us?" Miyako asked gently. A moment passed in silence, followed by another.

It was doubtful that Yuno had suddenly dozed off, and Miyako wondered if she was perhaps a bit embarrassed. They were still technically friends after all, and in a situation like this where other factors had perhaps begun to come into play, perhaps it only made things more difficult. Miyako felt relatively sure that Yuno's reply would have been yes, in any case, and snuggled up to Yuno's back. She draped an arm around Yuno's small body and pulled her closer.

"I missed you Yunocchi," Miyako whispered softly in Yuno's ear.

Yuno didn't speak. She didn't need to. She placed her hand over Miyako's warmly, holding it gently as her body relaxed. Miyako smiled at this, drawing in the sweet scent of Yuno's hair with a deep breath. Yuno's wordless answer had been more than enough. Perhaps it had been too much even, a reply that had evoked a strong yearning inside of Miyako, one that she didn't completely understand yet. Perhaps there was no such thing as too much Yuno, and one day the yearning would turn her into a raging sapphic demoness hellbent on having Yuno all to herself.

Miyako sleepily agreed with the later. She was halfway there already.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Notice: This story will be released on a bi-weekly schedule until further notice**_

Please see profile for details

_**Sunshine: Chapter 6**__ is scheduled for July 27th._

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta: **Kuchibiru


	7. Chapter 6

The minutes of the lazy summer morning ticked away slowly. The sun had already risen, beginning an earnest ascent higher into the sky and rapidly warming the air. The nice breeze from the night before had all but disappeared, and in its place was a certain humidity that was quickly feeling very warm and rather sticky.

"Oh, it smells nice, too…" Miyako mumbled to herself sleepily, her face partially buried in the sandy blonde hair of her guest. Having barely shifted from her original position several hours ago, it seemed that she had slept well that night. Her hand had found a more comfortable sleeping position just above Yuno's waist, and the collection of several of her limbs still fit nicely into Yuno's bent legs and relatively straight back.

It was however getting quite warm, and Miyako awoke from her dreaming to find that she was indeed a bit sticky already. Besides the heat from the sun, of which already radiated down through the ceiling above, Miyako was quite aware of the intense warmth coming from the darling girl intimately next to her. While it probably would have been more comfortable temperature-wise to allow air to flow between their bodies, Miyako was feeling particularly stubborn.

There were certainly better times to snuggle Yuno. Perhaps the warmth of Miyako's heartthrob was best left for cold winter nights when the heater wasn't turned on, or autumn days where one watched the leaves falling, standing outside even though it was chilly. From this the reality of the situation could be easily surmised, and that reality clearly stated that there were better times to snuggle.

Miyako just didn't care.

The heat of summer wasn't the best environment for snuggling Yuno and not baking at the same time, but being close to her was like colliding matter with anti-matter: The fiery explosion was beautiful. It was something one did even though they knew they would be warmed up quite a bit. Even though they knew the heat might be too intense. There was something romantic about two things being so close they set each other off.

Miyako's stomach grumbled.

"I heard that," Yuno said softly, her sleepy-head voice not yet ready to be used.

"Ah, Yunocchi is awake?" Miyako wondered aloud. She should have expected Yuno to wake about the same time as her, but perhaps Yuno had been awake for awhile and had chosen not to disturb her? _"Or maybe Yunocchi woke up and was like: Snuggles! And didn't want to leave me alone…"_

That was a particularly nice scenario and Miyako imagined she would go with that one.

"I've been awake for like ten minutes," Yuno replied, clearing her throat slightly as she stretched her arms out in front of her.

"Ah ha! I got you!" Miyako proclaimed excitedly. "I knew it! You have been caught red handed!"

"Nooo! That's mean!" Yuno protested, flailing her limbs about meekly, "My hands aren't red…"

"Oh, this is true," Miyako said simply, squelching the desire to roll Yuno on her back and climb on top of her. Yuno's fidgeting was already getting her riled up and she had been awake not more than five minutes. In particular, the movements of Yuno's body against her own were quite… enticing. Perhaps it would be better if she let Yuno out of her grasp, lest she do unspeakable things that would later be cryptically recounted in multi-colored diaries with far too many ribbons. "Yunocchi is free to go… If she wants."

"If I want?" Yuno rolled over to face Miyako, staring at the taller girl with a cute expression that was still a little sleepy looking.

Miyako wanted to reaffirm her hold on Yuno, but she refrained. It was getting pretty warm out, and her heart was pumping blood much faster now that Yuno was essentially teasing her. She was quite warm because of this, not to mention, her stomach was rumbling again. However, in that moment, Miyako found she could easily set her hunger aside.

Yuno was beautiful. Yuno was irresistible in the way that only she was. Many times Miyako had looked upon Yuno and had seen this wonderful side of the small girl she had come to know, and every time she had felt fortunate to have such a pleasant person in her life. But waking up to her in the morning… That was a whole new level of Yuno that Miyako had rarely experienced. Sharing a bed with her, let alone a pillow, was one of Miyako's favorite things, and when the occasion for them to spend the night together came upon them again by chance, it felt more intense and more wonderful than the last.

The tone of the conversation suddenly shifted into something lightheartedly serious, if there was such a thing.

"Well, you chose to be here, right?" Miyako mused thoughtfully, melding her thoughts with the scenario deftly, "It's not like I'm forcing you… Though that sounds entertaining."

"I didn't have a choice Miya-chan, I left my keys at home and that's that," Yuno replied, "And the way you're talking about 'forcing' sounds so unwholesome, you know."

"No art student is wholesome," Miyako countered easily.

"This is true," Yuno agreed, sighing.

Several moments passed in silence. Miyako could tell there was something on Yuno's mind, but she couldn't particularly place it. Yuno seemed generally agreeable, generally happy, and for the most part generally content. She was maybe a little bit smelly from not having had a bath the night before, but Miyako would have been the last person to mind.

"You know, Yunocchi," Miyako began, "You can always sleep over."

"I know," Yuno said, a hint of vagueness in her voice. She rolled on her back and gazed at the ceiling for a brief moment. "We should make breakfast."

Miyako wanted to gaze at Yuno for several more minutes, but Yuno's tone was telling her to forget it and do otherwise. It was not that Yuno was upset with her, and the conversation was not awkward for her, but it was maybe too early for seriousness. She put on a goofy smile and sat up, stretching. Sometimes Yuno had to be left to her own devices, and right now she seemed determined to make breakfast. Miyako had no objections.

"Yay! Breakfast!" Miyako exclaimed, a burst of happiness in her voice. "What is on the menu at Hidamari Café today?"

Yuno sat up suddenly, smiling. "Well, we went shopping yesterday so…"

"I want whatever Yunocchi is making!"

"Right, because otherwise you would eat junk food," Yuno said, scolding Miyako lightly as she stood. "And you eat whatever I make anyways."

"Even off your own plate!"

"Miya-chan!" Yuno interjected as she began to turn towards the kitchenette, "You do that just to rile me up."

"It spurs my creative thinking! A feisty Yunocchi is good for the mind!" Miyako explained, standing up and tagging along behind Yuno. "I would know that better than anyone."

"I have a moral objection to taking advantage of someone for creativity," Yuno said flatly, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I do it all the time!" Miyako admitted unabashedly. "You desperately need to see my space panty piece from over break! Imagine your pink panties amidst the contrasting blackness of space, and…"

"Miya-chan!" Yuno protested again, turning around to face Miyako with a lively expression on her face. "My panties are not to be used for a piece for school! And they certainly are not fuel for your creativity!"

"Well, okay… But they are fuel for an intergalactic spaceship!" Miyako explained happily, eyes open wide as she waited for Yuno's reaction. Oh how she loved Yuno's precious reactions, and all the wonderful emotions Yuno was capable of expressing. Even those dirty looks she sometimes got. Those were fantastic.

"That's still not okay…" Yuno complained exasperatedly. She opened the fridge to take an inventory of the items even though they had only been purchased the day before. The door wasn't open very long. Yuno closed it suddenly, her face turning crimson red as she turned to Miyako, "Just when did you dig up a pair of my panties!"

"I used my imagination!" Miyako answered happily.

Yuno turned away in embarrassment. Somehow imaginary panties sounded like a worse scenario than Miyako actually raiding her drawers for still-life props.

"At least you're not a pervert," Yuno said at last, and realizing that she was red in the face, she turned back to the fridge, opened the door again, and rummaged through the lower shelf.

"I'm an art student! It's perfectly okay!" Miyako added. One small step for man, one giant leap away from the actual statement for mankind. Besides, one had to consider that Yoshinoya, the most artsy person Miyako knew… She was okay, right? Everyone loved her, after a while, and she was a shining example of how artists were not perverted in the least... Right?

"I'm not convinced."

Miyako wasn't about to mention it, but she was plainly aware of how succinctly Yuno's words had managed to sum up her own thoughts after she had actually considered them.

"Miya-chan, do you want to light the stove?" Yuno asked suddenly, her thoughts seemingly switching to a random subject as they sometimes did. Of course, to an art student, something like this was never random. Everything was always interconnected in some diabolically awesome, twisted and contrived way. It just seemed random to the outside world because the outside world would never understand it, much like they would never understand why chai lattes were a divine symbol of lesbianism, even before chai lattes were even called chai lattes and the Secret Lesbian Order of Chai was formed.

One could even ask any woman if they liked chai, and while some would happily agree, many would flatly deny it or play it off. Openly loving chai... This of course is what it truly means to be out of the closet.

"I would love to light the stove," Miyako started, turning her attention back to Yuno. "That is if you don't mind me fondling the control knobs to your burner."

Yuno's eyes fell onto Miyako's in a stare, her expression completely at a loss. Her mind worked furiously to understand the theoretical routes that Miyako's neurons would have had to have taken in order to say what she had just said, but for this, Yuno truly lacked an answer.

"Actually this is your burner," Yuno explained, pulling a reply out from the hat of common sense she rarely wore but sometimes liked to surprise people with. It wasn't a very deep hat.

Miyako let the matter go.

"Well, this may be my apartment, but we are sharing it. And you are totally possessive of my kitchen anyways," Miyako began, only to think of another possibility. "Hey, Yunocchi…"

"What is it?" Yuno pulled a couple of tomatoes and several eggs from the fridge.

"Do you like being possessive? Like in the dominant way?" Miyako asked, a bit of seriousness in her voice. It wouldn't hurt to ask, and the chances of Yuno thinking of the question like Miyako thought of the question were slim. The answer might be great either way.

"Yes, because if I didn't you would be eating snacks," Yuno said, having made her way to scoop rice into a pot. It seemed as if she had taken the question in the context of food, and considering that she was speaking of and to Miyako, it was a good context to base statements from. "Didn't your parents ever teach you anything about cooking? I'm not the best, but my Mom still taught me some things."

"Well," Miyako started. The question, while generally demure, had brought her parents into the equation and she really didn't want to talk about them. "I learned how to make ramen from the package. I'm glad you take care of me because ramen gets old around package number 22."

"You sound experienced," Yuno replied simply, her attention on the task at hand. Breakfast was coming together nicely, and Miyako wasn't complaining about her hunger. Yuno would have to keep Miyako's mind off of breakfast for a bit longer, although in Miyako's mind ramen certainly would qualify as breakfast.

"Sadly yes." Miyako leaned against the counter. She had hoped that it would be acknowledged once more that Yuno wanted to make sure she was taken care of, but of course Yuno's joyous presence in her kitchen was proof enough such a want existed.

"You know, you could learn a thing or two from me," Yuno added.

"Yunocchi-sensei!" Miyako exclaimed, her mind veering off into familiar, perverse territory.

"Miya-chan, I'm serious. Why don't you learn a little by helping me?" Yuno offered again. "You know I wouldn't mind teaching you."

"Yea, right up until I burn the food and Yunocchi starts to threaten my life because I destroyed the only means of satiating the monster that lives next door," Miyako explained, "Somehow Yunocchi chasing after me with a knife is not in my fantasies, even including the X-ra..."

"Miya-chan…" Yuno continued, slightly frustrated.

"You know I would love to spend hands-on time with you, Yunocchi…" Miyako started again, "But then…"

"But then what?" Yuno pressed, "I'm not going to threaten you."

"That's not even possible for you, Yunocchi." Miyako smirked, eyeing Yuno with a silly grin. It was certainly hard for Miyako to see the little Yuno-monster as an actual threat, but regardless of whether Yuno agreed or not, the expression between her sandy blonde hair remained resolute.

Miyako turned her gaze away. It was hard to be serious when she wanted a smile out of Yuno instead of a serious face, and Yuno was definitely in serious mode this morning.

"Well," Miyako began, shuffling her feet idly on the floor, "Then you wouldn't have a reason to cook for me."

"I…"

"And what about eating together!" Miyako continued abruptly, her tone somewhat of mock drama, somewhat of actual concern, "And making me do the dishes! What would happen to that?"

"Miya-chan!" Yuno interjected, turning to Miyako with a rather aggressive expression, "I'm not saying any of that!"

"Eh?"

"I'm just saying I want you to learn how to cook, and I want to teach you," Yuno explained, and she turned back to the stove. "I kind of just want you to… To help me make dinner. Sometimes. When I don't want to bite you because it's a special dinner."

"What about breakfast and lunch?" Miyako wondered aloud.

"Maybe breakfast, but definitely not lunch."

"Why not lu…" Miyako began to inquire again with a slight whine.

"Because!" Yuno began to vigorously chop a tomato into quarters. The knife was flying particularly fast and Miyako knew it would be unwise to approach or argue with the culinary cadaver at work. "If I don't make you lunch, who will?"

"_We were just talking about that…"_ Miyako thought to herself, and she smiled. Yuno was quite possessive of her meal preparations.

It was almost amazing that Yuno wanted her in the kitchen during meal time at all, but after some contemplation, Miyako could vaguely begin to understand Yuno's logic. Within Yuno's thoughts, Miyako imagined that there was definitely a spark of fire that called out to Yuno on a frequent basis, and that flame bore with it the desire for something reassuring. Something she could count on.

It was from this idea that Miyako came to a conclusion about Yuno: She was the type of person that enjoyed a daily rhythm for at least part of every day, and every once in awhile she would perhaps feel the desire for a slight change in that rhythm. And while the most important parts never changed, Yuno always managed to grow and embrace the finer aspects of life in new ways. It was true when Hiro and Sae were living at Hidamari, and it was still true now, even though they had left.

"Miya-chan?" Yuno said, looking up from her work. Miyako's silence had become rather noticeable.

"What?"

"Well, aren't you going to help me?" Yuno asked, gazing at Miyako hopefully.

Checking to see that Yuno had indeed already set down the knife, Miyako smiled and covered the few steps between them.

"Yunocchi, so… What if I make a mistake, or you're making something special… Are you really going to bite me?" Miyako wondered.

Yuno turned back to the look at the work surface.

"What, did you take that seriously?" Yuno laughed, drawing the rather large knife into her hand from the counter again. The stainless steel edge glinted in the light pouring through the sliding glass doors, glimmering as it moved almost playfully though the air. Yuno raised the instrument slowly before swinging it down viciously onto the tomato she held captive in her hand. A splatter of red flesh hit Yuno's cheek as she turned back to Miyako. "You need to relax."

"I'll relax as soon as I know you won't cut your fingers off!" Miyako exclaimed with a grimace.

"That was for entertainment purposes," Yuno replied with a grin, turning back to her work.

Miyako sighed happily. There was something wonderful about this side of Yuno. Something mischievous that would never actually get her in trouble... Well, unless she cut her fingers off.

"The was uncommonly macabre," Miyako said, reaching forward to brush the tomato from Yuno's cheek and thinking about sucking severed finger wounds. Yuno's skin was just as warm and wonderful as Miyako had thought it would be. The small girl turned toward Miyako and closed her mouth over Miyako's finger, teeth pressing lightly down on her digit.

"It seems you were serious about the biting," Miyako added.

Yuno removed her mouth from Miyako's finger.

"Well, I have been pretty serious all morning, you know."

It seemed that the small, feisty girl had managed on a very subvert level to turn her seriousness into teasing playfulness.

Miyako smiled. As long as the cold-blooded tomato killer was by her side, the shrimp crunchies would never stand a chance.

"_Well…" _Miyako thought to herself. _"I don't stand much of a chance either."_

The wall between her feelings and Yuno would certainly crumble if Yuno kept nonchalantly teasing her like this.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 7**__ is scheduled for August 10th._

_**Hungry for more? **_This story is being released concurrently with K-ON!: My First!

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta: **Kuchibiru


	8. Chapter 7

A pleasant late morning breeze rolled through the apartment, floating through the open front door and dragging along with it the scent of cooked rice. The aroma filled the small studio easily, along with the familiar sounds of a deft cook masterfully creating a wonderful lunch.

"Yunocchi always makes the best lunches!" Miyako exclaimed from her position at the small square table in her room. She stretched her arms up into the air and glanced towards the kitchen area. "The rice is making me hungry already!"

"We just ate, Miya-chan. You're being silly again," Yuno replied, smiling as she worked. The apron she wore rustled slightly as a breeze blew through the familiar space, and her hands moved quickly to form rice into balls stuffed with dried _umeboshi_.

"Well, you know me." Miyako turned back to the sketch on the table that she was working on, and by capturing inspiration from the food preparation, added in rice-shaped specks as dynamic and energetic details. "Food is always on my mind because it's so tasty!"

Miyako smiled to herself as she thought about the present situation and how it had come about.

The day had started well, especially considering how late they had stayed up the night before. Talking amiably about everything from aliens to Yoshinoya, they had managed to stay awake until at least two in the morning, and even then sleep had not come fast. Miyako in particular remembered that she had rolled around for several minutes after the conversation had ended.

"_Well, that's because Yunocchi dozed off before snuggles."_ Miyako reminded herself again, dragging the pencil around on the paper before her in circles. It had been a sad occurrence: Miyako had been particularly hoping for a reason to hold Yuno again, yet such a reason never presented itself as Yuno fell asleep rather quickly. She couldn't even tempt Yuno into an embrace, and how would Miyako know it would be okay to hold Yuno again if Yuno was dreaming about penguins in Africa?

"_Well, it probably would have been okay..."_

Miyako sighed, scribbling another grain of rice onto the page. Even with all her adoration for Yuno, even though she could probably assume Yuno wouldn't mind unsolicited physical attention very much, if at all... Miyako had a hard time allowing herself to cuddle up to Yuno without the smaller girl's acceptance. Yuno was giving, she was understanding, but... Yuno had the right to her personal space too, and Miyako didn't want to intrude too much. She especially didn't want to make Yuno feel uncomfortable, although she knew that border was certainly being tested lately.

"_She doesn't really have a space of her own right now, I guess," _Miyako thought to herself, glancing again at the sandy blonde-haired girl as she fished through the fridge. _"She probably wants it back. She probably really wants it back."_

Miyako returned her attention back to her artwork, staring past the page with a wordless expression of furtive remorse. Being able to live with Yuno next door was wonderful, but being able to live with Yuno in her own apartment, in her own bed... That was something much more wonderful; of a much greater and almost incomparable beauty. It was hard to accept that perhaps Yuno was desiring something else.

"_Well, there was that time when she left the pot of miso on the stove after losing her key..." _Miyako mused, remembering the events not long ago when Yuno had miraculously flushed her key down the toilet. Yuno had eventually found a key to open the door of her room, and even after spending several nights with the rest of the tenants of Hidamari Apartments, Yuno had still wanted to spend the night with Miyako. When she discovered the mutated, growing mess of fermented rice on her stove... It was like a reason to spend the night with a Miyako. Sure the smell was bad, but certainly it would have dissipated relatively quickly with the doors open. This of course lead Miyako to believe that Yuno had ulterior motives for wanting to spend the night over.

Oh well.

"Miya-chan, how are we getting to the place you want to go?" Yuno asked, interrupting Miyako's chain of thoughts.

"Oh, right," Miyako replied, snapping out of her daze and turning to look at Yuno. They had decided that morning to go to a relatively close temple together for lunch, and while Yuno had absolutely insisted on making lunch for them both, Miyako had insisted on the location, of which Yuno had never been before. "Well, there is a bus route on the other side of the campus that can take us there. It's not very far, so we probably won't be abducted."

"That's good to know," Yuno replied with sarcastic playfulness. "As long as it's not scorching hot when we get there."

"No no, I don't think so," Miyako said reassuringly as she set her pencil down and stood up. She made her way over to Yuno to inspect the food preparations: Rice balls, little sandwiches, and a pink floral, insulated, soft lunch tote with two bottles of green tea. Miyako watched as Yuno put the food into the bag. "Oh, it looks delicious!"

Yuno smiled, turning to Miyako.

"Do you want to take some art supplies? Is it a nice place to draw?" Yuno asked, curious.

"Oh, yes!" Miyako replied enthusiastically. Yuno's voice was soft and comforting, and Miyako had a hard time coming up with any other answer. Soon enough she was making her way around the apartment putting together another bag full of paper, markers, pencils, pastels, watercolors, and charcoal. She imagined that not all of it was necessary, especially for a lunch trip, but Miyako knew Yuno would appreciate her effort.

Before much time had passed things were in order and it was time to leave. Miyako slung the art supplies on her back, and then after situating them comfortably, took the lunch bag. Yuno found her small day bag from her belongings, and checking to make sure she had all her necessary belongings, they were off.

"It's been awhile since we went somewhere nice, Yunocchi," Miyako commented as they walked along the sidewalk to the bus stop. "Though I guess we really don't know too many places to go, either."

"That's true..." Yuno replied, gazing ahead. It was beginning to warm up outside, but as of yet it wasn't unbearable. "How did you learn about this place anyways?"

"Hiro-senpai!" Miyako explained happily, "She told me to take you there one day. She said it was a nice place to go and have lunch."

"Oh, I see," Yuno said, fidgeting slightly as she walked along.

A moment of silence filled the void of the conversation, and Miyako noticed the smaller girl was thinking about something.

"It's okay to miss them," Miyako said softly, "They are just a bunch of crazy art students anyways."

"They really liked each other, didn't they?" Yuno stated thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Miyako replied, staring ahead as the thought ran through her mind. She had to admire her seniors' affections for each other. "I'm glad they went to the same school. They deserved it, and if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have a place to go to today with a nice lunch, right?"

Yuno nodded silently, stepping slightly closer to Miyako, and the walk to the bus stop continued in silence. Upon arriving, Miyako checked the time on her shiny and relatively new cell phone. They were a few minutes early.

"Oh, Miya-chan," Yuno said at last, fishing through her day bag to remove a small purse. She removed a few coins from it, and taking Miyako's hand into her own, placed them in Miyako's palm. "You probably don't have any money for the bus, right?"

"Yunocchi, you're so wonderful!" Miyako beamed excitedly. Yuno knew her too well. "I completely did not have any money at all!"

"Your parents really need to give you a bit more," Yuno added, an ounce of frustration in her voice.

"Well," Miyako replied as she diverted her attention to Yuno's face, "I'm lucky just being at Yamabuki, you know."

"I know, but we're still young. It shouldn't be this hard for you." Yuno peered down the road, her eyes coming to a rest on what appeared to be their bus stopped at an intersection.

"It really isn't that hard, Yunocchi," Miyako explained with a grin. "Money doesn't cook me dinner as nice as you do."

Blushing, Yuno turned her eyes down towards the ground and gently kicked about a small pebble with her foot. The sound of the bus as it rolled down the street grew louder, and before Yuno had a moment to speak, the doors opened before them.

Paying the moneybox at the console and walking down the aisle, Miyako spotted a couple of open seats. She motioned for Yuno, who followed just behind her to sit at the window. Miyako followed after her and they sat in silence as the bus rumbled along down the street, gazing out the window.

The familiar streets that wrapped around Yamabuki faded away, and in their place were a mess of streets Miyako didn't recognize in the least. She recalled Hiro mentioning the name of the stop to get off the bus at, but she didn't know exactly how far it was. The bus schedule she had looked at earlier didn't mention the distances either, and even the map on the back provided little clue to someone that barely knew the neighborhood, let alone the city.

Life at Hidamari was rather confined, and Miyako had come to realize this over the years. At least she could be confined with Yuno. Miyako glanced at the precious girl sitting next to her.

Yuno was staring out the window in contemplation, watching as building after building passed. Miyako thought that maybe she might have a hint as to what Yuno might be thinking about, but she didn't dare to assume she knew what it was. Yuno had had something on her mind since coming back to Hidamari, and if it wasn't apparent yesterday, it was definitely apparent today.

Silence continued for sometime, and after what seemed like thirty minutes had passed since the start of their bus trip, Miyako noticed a change in scenery. Suddenly a great amount of foliage filled her vision as the bus made its way past the boundaries of urban development and into a particularly alive and green forest. A sign quickly passed by, and while Miyako didn't have the time to read the entire text, she was sure she had noticed the character for 'temple'. She pulled the cord to notify the driver they wanted to get off the bus.

"Oh, Yunocchi, we must be getting close," Miyako said softly as she continued to gaze out the window, leaning closer to the glass surface over Yuno. After a few moments of quiet, Miyako became acutely aware that Yuno was watching her, and she turned to face the girl.

Yuno's expression was hard to read. It wasn't necessarily blank, but it wasn't necessarily readable either. It was almost one of curiosity, but at the same time it wasn't. Perhaps it was wonderment, but maybe not. Miyako followed her instincts and smiled.

"Yunocchi?" Miyako inquired.

Before Yuno could answer the driver had brought the bus to a stop. Miyako glanced outside to confirm that they were indeed at a temple of sorts, and seeing that they were, she stood up. Taking the art supplies and lunch bags from the seat, she motioned for Yuno to walk in front of her and they exited the bus. Miyako bounced after Yuno as soon as they had stepped off, wrapping an arm around the girl's lower back and pulling her close as the bus pulled away.

"Yunocchi, everything okay?" Miyako asked, watching Yuno intently. "You've been so quiet."

Yuno gazed up to meet Miyako's eyes, and for a moment Miyako could see sadness in them. Sadness and perhaps confusion. Yuno blinked her eyes, and it was gone. Her eyes glimmered slightly in the noon light from the sun above, and a small smile formed on her lips.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Yuno replied at last, leaning into Miyako's shoulder and fidgeting slightly. She twisted her fingers around before her for a few moments and then added, "Umm, Miya-chan..."

"What is it?"

"Can we draw a picture together today?" Yuno asked quietly.

"I thought that was what we were going to do," Miyako replied with a grin.

"I mean... the same picture. We have never done that before... I was thinking, maybe we would try something like that..." Yuno explained, fumbling slightly for words.

Miyako didn't try to understand where Yuno's question had come from, but perhaps she didn't need to. Yuno wanted to share something with her and that was happiness in itself. It was more more curious to think why Yuno was seemingly all caught up about it in the first place. Yuno would be the first to understand that she wouldn't mind.

"Of course! That sounds great!" Miyako answered excitedly. "But after we get to a nice place. I want lunch first!"

Yuno giggled, relaxing as she glanced at Miyako.

"All you think about is food," Yuno chastised playfully.

Miyako smiled at this, the gears in her mind turning wonderfully. "Yunocchi is food now?"

Yuno just blushed and stared at her feet.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 8**__ is scheduled for August 24th._

_**Hungry for more? **_This story is being released concurrently with K-ON!: My First!

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta: **Kuchibiru


	9. Chapter 8

The Sun was beginning to beat down viciously and the hum of insects in the trees grew louder with each passing minute. The few clouds that lingered off in the distance seemed to be moving away, and a rather fierce humidity had begun to creep up in their place as the early afternoon began to settle in. Surely the heat had affected the turnout of people as well: the grounds of the temple were nearly vacant. Perhaps that should have been a sign.

Perhaps it wasn't the best day for a trip.

"Miya-chan, it's gotten kind of hot..." Yuno whimpered, gazing up towards Miyako seeking solace.

It really was quite warm.

Miyako glanced to Yuno to find a rather miserable expression on her face. Not only had they not had air conditioning for a couple days now, they were romping around a temple, walking on the stone pathways that had quickly become hot with the Sun's radiation. And while Miyako had managed to break a sweat, it was clear that Yuno's small body wasn't fairing as well as her own. Yuno's expression said it all, and Miyako couldn't help but feel bad. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe going to the temple was a bad idea.

Perhaps it didn't matter though. They were there for the afternoon, and the temperature wouldn't be much cooler back at the apartment. Furthermore, certainly this was more exciting than moping around with nothing to do, angsting over the multitude of things seemingly constantly running through Miyako's mind. Certainly angst was out of the question. Certainly she couldn't be downcast about anything right now... Yuno wasn't a happy camper and if anything, Miyako felt responsible for her well being, especially at this point in time. It was her idea to come here in the first place.

"Yunocchi, it looks nicer over there! We should get into the shade!" Miyako replied, pointing in the direction of what appeared to be the edge of a forested area. She wasn't particularly sure if it was permissible to be in that part of the grounds, but certainly no one would give them a hard time considering it was so warm.

"Ah, let's go there," Yuno answered after surveying the area Miyako had mentioned. Her eyes lit up a little, and her pace quickened.

"Once we stop moving I'm sure you'll feel a little better. Those steps we climbed up after getting off the bus were killer!" Miyako said, picking up her own pace to match Yuno's. "It's not like there were an absolute ton of them, but still..."

Several very warm and sweaty moments later Miyako and Yuno found themselves sheltered from the Sun's rays by a wonderfully large and old deciduous tree. Rather than the hard stonework of the walkways, their feet came to rest on the outskirts of the forest. It was essentially comprised of dry dirt with the occasional wild grass or weed popping up from the ground, but it was much cooler and substantially softer to step on, not to mention dirtier.

Setting the lunch and art bags down at her feet, Miyako plopped down happily at the base of the tree and leaned against the rather large trunk. Dirty schmirty - An artist had more important things to worry about. The pants she was wearing had been thoroughly stained already from last year's classes, a bit of good old mother nature wouldn't do them any harm.

"Have a seat!" Miyako exclaimed happily, brushing aside a small fallen branch so that Yuno could seat down next to her and in a particularly close proximity.

Yuno plopped down and gave a sigh of relief as she leaned back against the tree, her eyes closed and her hands coming to a rest on her lap. Her bangs had become a bit damp and the hair clung slightly to her forehead, resting across her eyelids where it was long enough to do so.

She was cute.

She was so cute that Miyako wanted to squeeze and smother her with attention, but she knew that would probably be a bad idea. Poor Yuno was far too warm and beat from the weather for unnecessary bodily contact, and even though Miyako found herself gazing silently at Yuno's wonderful features and taking in her presence and condition, Miyako had known the moment Yuno's eyes met hers several minutes before that she wasn't feeling particularly well. The heat was certainly to blame, but Miyako couldn't ignore the possibility that what was recently going through Yuno's thoughts also might be affecting her present mood and spirit.

Miyako reached up and brushed the damp locks from Yuno's eyes.

It was nice to offer support to the smaller girl when the chance arose. Miyako had found it to be less of a responsibility and more of a pleasure. A part of life that had begun to grow on her since the first day she met Yuno.

"Hang in there Yunocchi," Miyako said, a genuine smile on her face.

Yuno opened her eyes and turned her head to face Miyako. At first her gaze seemed to be one of distant curiosity, but after several moments it seemed to change into something a little more present. Yuno offered a small smile and sighed.

"I'm sorry Miya-chan, I guess this heat is too much for me," Yuno explained apologetically. "The shade is nice though."

"You think you'll be feeling better here? How about something to drink?" Miyako asked, turning her attention towards the insulated lunch bag and opening it. She pulled out a bottle of green tea and, after removing the cap, handed it to Yuno. "Here, Yunocchi."

Hesitating slightly as she considered the proprosition, Yuno took the tea from Miyako. Staring at it for a few seconds in thought before continuing, she finally took a sip.

"Thanks," Yuno said, handing the drink back to Miyako and leaning against the trunk of the tree again. Her facial complexion seemed better and not as depreciated from the heat, however she resumed the silence that Miyako had come to markedly notice over the course of the morning that day.

Perhaps it was time to say something.

"Hey, Yunocchi," Miyako started before pausing slightly for words, having not yet thought about what she was going to say beforehand, as per usual. Perhaps something simple was best. "Something on your mind?"

Yuno closed her eyes.

"Lately," Yuno replied, pausing. "Latey, yes."

"I'd like to hear it if you want to share, Yunocchi."

"You've heard most of it before, I'm just kind of letting it stick around." Yuno explained, her eyes still closed as a mild breeze blew through the trees and ruffled several loose strands of her hair.

"This isn't about your room key is it?" Miyako asked playfully, resting her head against the tree and facing Yuno.

Yuno smiled wryly.

"No, you know that's not it," Yuno replied, "I can't believe I forgot it, but either way, I guess it's okay. I'm glad you came back early to Hidamari."

"Me too." Miyako agreed, watching Yuno intently as another mild breeze blew though the trees. "I guess we were talking about it all break."

Yuno didn't immediately have anything to say to this, and rather than open her mouth she opened her eyes to take in her surroundings once more.

"Yuno..." Miyako began.

"I keep thinking that this is the last summer break," Yuno said, turning to Miyako. "It's kind of pathetic you know."

"No it's not."

"Sure it is, doesn't everyone have to grow up some day and go to college and all that stuff?" Yuno explained, turning her glance down to the bottle of tea that Miyako still held in her hand.

She gave a quiet sigh.

"That's usually what happens, I guess." Miyako said, and having noticed Yuno's glance, she handed the tea back to Yuno, "Have some more."

"Thanks." Yuno took the container and took another sip. The green tea lingered in her mouth for a moment before she swallowed. Several moments passed, and just before it seemed as if Yuno had nothing further to say, she asked, "Do you miss anyone from middle school?"

Miyako laughed at this, and Yuno glanced to look at her.

"What? That was a serious question!" Yuno exclaimed, frustrated with what perhaps seemed to be Miyako not taking her seriously.

"No no, Yunocchi... I know," Miyako replied as she resumed a more demure expression. "It's just... Middle school was... Awful. I didn't have any real friends."

"Eh? Why!" Yuno inquired earnestly. "You're like, the bestest friend ever!"

"I appreciate that Yunocchi, I really do." Miyako smiled and gazed over the temple grounds, "But middle school wasn't good for me... Leaving aside the fact that I didn't particularly fit in with the normal crowd... I changed schools five times. I never had a chance to make a good friend. I never had anyone to miss."

Miyako turned her attention back to Yuno to find that the smaller girl was staring at her. Miyako shrugged, "That's the way it was back then."

"But, well..." Yuno started, the grumpiness from only moment before seemingly gone and replaced by curiosity. "We get along great, right? Why didn't you make any friends?"

Yuno was so unassumingly and open sometimes... Miyako's heart melted a little.

"The boys were gross and the girls all talked about boys and useless drama crap. Raging teenage hormones are just so awesome." Miyako explained before adding, "Though really, I don't imagine that you would have been keen about such things either."

"No, not really, I guess..." Yuno said, the tone of her curiosity changing into something a little more reserved. "It seems out of character for you to not make friends easily."

"It's just circumstantial." Miyako insisted. "Didn't you have any good friends...?"

"No. I thought I did, but no." Yuno replied, a hint of harshness in her voice, one that Miyako had rarely been witness to.

"I don't actually believe you, especially if you're going to put it like that, Yunocchi."

Miyako looked back to her hands in her lap. For whatever reason it had hurt to consider that perhaps Yuno had once had a close friend in her life. Someone before her. Perhaps that was selfish, but to a girl that had never particularly been so close to anyone besides Yuno... It hurt in a way that Miyako didn't understand.

"It's silly, really," Yuno started. "There was a girl in my old school that I wanted to go to high school with, but her parents wouldn't let her go to Yamabuki."

"Well, you can't control that."

"No, but she could at least stay in touch with me." Yuno replied, looking at Miyako intently. "I mean, she said she would..."

Miyako turned her gaze to meet Yuno's, easily reading the message in Yuno's eyes as they met. It was hard to feel jealous about the girls in Yuno's past when Yuno was inches away and perhaps telling her subtly that she didn't want to lose touch. That Yuno wanted her in her life, at least in some on-going capacity.

It suddenly occurred to Miyako how close their faces were. For a moment Miyako felt an upwelling of desire in her chest as she considered closing the gap between their lips. She had never kissed anyone before... But somehow or another she found herself wanting such an experience with Yuno. A multitude of feelings had come upon her like a torrent, and while she didn't understand how all of them came to be, she understood what she wanted to happen between Yuno and herself quite clearly.

Of course, it was a new feeling and a new experience that would have to wait. A kiss was probably entirely out of the question, no matter how darling Yuno was in that moment. Miyako sighed, releasing some of the anxiety that had suddenly built up as she maintained her gaze on Yuno. It didn't help much, and the fact that Yuno had no words to break the sudden spell didn't help at all.

"Yunocchi..." Miyako began hesitantly, still painfully aware of her proximity to Yuno but wanting to continue the conversation just the same, "I wouldn't forget you like that, you know."

Yuno gazed at Miyako for a couple more quiet moments.

"I know," Yuno said at last, turning away from Miyako and taking another sip from the green tea.

Yuno's voice had captured a hint of remorse and it left Miyako to wonder once more what the girl could possibly be thinking about. Considering how the present conversation had winded along, Miyako was certain at this point that Yuno was presently troubled with graduating, but to what degree Miyako wasn't sure.

Miyako could understand the feelings, however. She hadn't brought it up too much in the past, but of course it wasn't in her nature to do so. Instead of making a fuss, Miyako was more inclined to frolic about and amiably chat about useless topics. That was much more fun, and it always put a smile on Yuno's face too.

Perhaps this conversation was much too depressing, but just like several other similar conversations that had happened since Hiro and Sae had left Hidamari... It seemed like it was bound to happen again and again, until there was some sort of finalization or closure. At some point the reality of the future had to be faced, and with each passing day it seemed like that reality had to be faced more and more.

The reality that Miyako wanted to be around Yuno after graduation was perhaps the most pressing, and when it was at the forefront of her thoughts, as it normally was as of late, nothing else mattered. Yuno was the first person to truly open up to her. She was the first person to truly understand her. She was the one that was always there for her, even extending into the realm of situations where her parents couldn't even help her. Where she had no one to turn to but Yuno.

Miyako couldn't forget how Yuno made her feel inside, either.

Yuno was always there, and for the life Miyako she couldn't bear to face the possibility that Yuno would perhaps one day not be there. Yet, at the same time, Miyako found herself in the troubling position of being perhaps unwilling to chase her own dreams.

Yuno had a right to her own life. Yuno had a right to her own space. It was always like that... And Miyako had always respected Yuno's personal space while at the same time testing it in ways that pushed the limits while never actually crossed the fuzzy boundary that had always restrained her. Crossed the line drawn between innocent childishness and a mature relationship.

Their relationship had grown because of a foundation of fun and games, in just spending playful yet honest time together, and while those times had nurtured their relationship for quite awhile... Miyako now felt that perhaps it was a barrier. That the assumptions of their relationship and how it worked were now hindering what was possible in the future, and it left Miyako to fight with her feelings and ambitions over what to do.

In the end what she was used to always won out. They weren't graduating tomorrow.

The trouble could be put off for another day.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 9** is scheduled for September 7th._

_**Hungry for more? **_This story is being released concurrently with K-ON!: My First!

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta:** Itanshi


	10. Chapter 9

"Miya-chan," Yuno began as another gentle breeze blew through her hair, rustling the ends that were not clinging to her neck or forehead with perspiration.

When the sandy blonde haired girl didn't immediately continue, Miyako turned her gaze away from the landscape before them to face her most dearest of persons. She had already imagined that Yuno wanted to ask her something and required her direct attention, as sometimes was the case in the past. Miyako smiled at the smaller girl genuinely, waiting for her to continue.

Yuno, for all her cuteness and innocence, had quite the look of direction and intent shining in her eyes. They were big and open, gleaming slightly in the early afternoon light and reflecting the blue sky and Miyako's face upon their surface. Miyako had seen such eyes before, but it was never before from this close with such clear light, and never before were they so wanting of Miyako's complete attention.

Miyako could have said something right away, could have made a silly joke, but she didn't. There were times when Yuno's face was just so precious and honest that she couldn't possibly warrant the need to disturb the lovely girl and her hopefulness, and so rather then cause a fuss, Miyako pursed her bottom lip up and spread her smile a little wider. She couldn't help herself, somehow Yuno's expression had stirred happiness into her cauldron of emotions and the melody of ingredients had spread their magic.

"You said we could draw together, right?" Yuno asked, her tone generally relaxed even while pink floated across her cheeks. "I know we haven't eaten anything yet, but..."

"Okay Yunocchi!" Miyako replied happily. Food sounded absolutely awesome in that moment, but she had already been overtaken by the desire to fulfil Yuno's wish before the girl had even asked it. It was hard to say no to a face like that.

Yuno practically bounced in the dirt where she was sitting, and Miyako laughed as she rotated to retrieve the art supplies from her side. "Let's see what we have here..."

Before Miyako even had a chance to begin looking through the random assortment of supplies she had haphazardly thrown into the bad earlier that day, she was suddenly overcome by the delicious feeling of Yuno's body leaning across her front to peer into the bag as well. Suddenly Yuno's soft hair was under her nose, and the fragrance of shampoo filled her nostrils, right along with the smell of Yuno herself. The smell of her skin, her sweat... The unmistakable aromas that definitely were uniquely Yuno's, but could never be specifically placed.

Yuno was peering into the bag of supplies with a special smile on her face, and Miyako was losing her mind. It didn't even matter anymore that she had forgotten a moldable eraser, nor were the even more distant thoughts of lunch continuing to cross her mind. The feel of Yuno against her chest and the unexpected eroticisms caused by Yuno effectively pinning her against the trunk of the great tree were too much to allow such useful thoughts to exist in the first place, and in their stead Miyako was suddenly having her feelings overrun with less than wholesome wishes and aspirations.

Somehow the hot weather didn't matter anymore. As such, the intense warmth radiating from Yuno's body through her touch was most welcome, burning with a certain heat that Miyako soon found herself wanting more of.

It appeared that Yuno was in good spirits as well, seeming genuinely recuperated from the grueling glare of the Sun earlier. Rather than an expression of fatigue, Miyako could clearly see the corners of a smile on Yuno's face as she continued to fidget about on top of her.

"You're cute Yunocchi," Miyako said suddenly. She hadn't thought about the words beforehand, and in retrospect she probably would have said them anyways, but that didn't stop her from wondering if it had been too honest, especially considering their compromised situation. The last thing she wanted to do was to embarrass the already shy girl during a moment where her actions should be rewarded wholeheartedly because Miyako wanted to experience those actions again.

Yuno's smile continued, the faint blush appearing on her cheeks becoming more pronounced. It occurred to Miyako that Yuno might be physically close to her on purpose and for ulterior motives, but regardless of whether that was true or not wasn't going to particularly change the situation. Miyako let the notion drift away, and instead her attention came to focus on Yuno's bare skin, where her t-shirt had managed to pull away from the hem of her shorts and expose a scant amount of her lower back and sides.

It was no secret that Miyako was quite forward with her actions, and so it wouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that knew of Miyako and Yuno when the taller girl's mischievous mind clicked into gear and she wrapped her left arm around Yuno's torso. Following in the same fluid motion, Miyako allowed her other hand to roam to Yuno's belly, and before Yuno could even replace her happy smile with a surprised one, she had burst into a fit of giggles. The tickling had commenced.

"Miya-... chan!" Yuno croaked in between laughs, her body squirming in Miyako's grasp. Even if she had tried to make a genuine escape, Miyako's firm grip would have made it impossible. Yuno collapsed onto Miyako after only a few seconds of torture, causing an interruption in Miyako's disservice as her hand was caught underneath Yuno and on top of her lap.

"So... mean..." Yuno added as she caught her breath, her face hidden from view.

Miyako instantly had to wonder if she had crossed the line with her dear play thing. Not being able to see Yuno's expression made it difficult to ascertain what was going through her mind. Worry began to boil up inside of her, and she was tempted to let Yuno go completely and begin to apologize, however when she loosened her grip Yuno only rotated her body towards her and nuzzled her head into the side of her belly.

Miyako giggled softly.

"I didn't mean to do that..." Miyako explained as she begun to delicately fidget her hand out from underneath Yuno.

Yuno's body erupted into more spasms.

"No, Miya-chan! Please no more!" Yuno began to plead as her mind processed Miyako's action as more tickling. She squirmed until Miyako had fully freed her hand, laughing into Miyako's side, allowing her available hand to grab onto a bunched up portion of Miyako's shirt. "So... evil..."

"I didn't mean to do that..." Miyako repeated, a sinister and guilty smile spreading across her face. The playful Yuno, the one that didn't mind her purposeful and physically focused attention, was just too much fun.

"You sooo did. You so did that on purpose. Not fair!" Yuno countered back. She turned her head to glance up at Miyako, continuing to pant as she regained her breath.

Miyako looked down at Yuno intently. The girl was still loosely in her arm, warm and quite sweaty, but at the same time very much adorable and quite comfy. She almost didn't register Yuno's burning skin against hers, rather she registered the burning blush quickly spreading across Yuno's face.

Recognizing that Yuno was becoming more self-aware as the seconds passed, Miyako gave a little sigh and changed her smile to something more reassuring. She brought her hand to Yuno's head and dragged her fingers though her hair slowly.

"Ready to draw?" Miyako asked gently.

In all her days with Yuno she had come to understand the basics of how to avoid an embarrassing end to all their forays into physically, and right now presenting a simple path to the next task at hand seemed like the best choice. It was fair to say, however, that Miyako would have preferred Yuno nestled across her lap until it was time to go. The delicious feeling of Yuno near one of her favorite places was simply too wonderful to ignore.

"Okay!" Yuno replied happily, sitting up as Miyako loosened her hold further.

The feeling of embarrassment that Miyako had felt from Yuno moments before seemed to have vanished even though their sides were still in direct contact. Miyako smiled to herself as she pulled out a large sketchbook from their bag of supplies, followed by several varieties of pencils and a couple of erasers.

"So, what are we drawing today Yunocchi?" Miyako asked as she turned her attention back to the lovely girl nestled against her side. She hadn't thought of it before, but now that she was presented with the situation Miyako absolutely loved the idea of sharing a page with Yuno: They would have to sit close to each other in order to draw.

"Let's draw the temple!" Yuno exclaimed happily, pointing unnecessarily to the grounds before them. It was a fairly ideal subject matter as their position bade well for the composition. It captured the essence of the vast walkways, the forest ebbing in on the sides, and the central focal point of the temple itself while still not overloading the canvas with mundane details.

Yuno always had a great eye for scenes, she just wasn't always sure of herself. Maybe that could be said for other things as well.

"I think that's a great idea," Miyako replied, selecting a semi-hard pencil from her collection and handing it to Yuno before finding one for herself. She adjusted the sketchbook on their laps and set the pencil to the paper. "Well then, let's get to it!"

At first, the drawing started slowly. Miyako's mind was still preoccupied with Yuno's body against hers, and she had reason to believe Yuno was faced with the same situation as the smaller hand hesitated between strokes in the same manner as her own. Miyako had an overwhelming desire to sketch the form of Yuno on the page like she had done many times in the past, but she refrained from doing so, and rather she began to sketch the edge of the forest. Yuno was diligently working on a section of the temple already, and Miyako found herself taking glances at Yuno's work to make sure her portion was properly aligned.

Before they knew it they were both focused and hard at work on the sketch, and time began to pass quickly. No words were spoken, rather the languages of art and their bodies spoke as they coordinated the details and placement of objects on the paper. The edge of the temple roof met with a prominent tree jutting out from the forested background, and Yuno's hand melded the lines together effortlessly as Miyako's shifted aside to shade depth into the trunk of another tree. When Yuno was finished, Miyako let her attention drift back to her prior section of composition to fill in some of the smaller details nearby.

There was something so peaceful and serene about drawing with Yuno that Miyako felt as if there wasn't a care in the world. Even the hot day had become bearable with a nice breeze, one that had managed to pick up as the afternoon marched on by at least an hour or two. It was at this point that Miyako's stomach rumbled quite loudly.

"Miya-chan, hungry?" Yuno asked, setting down her hand and leaning against the tree as she glanced at Miyako.

"I guess I can't lie about this one, huh." Miyako replied, smiling as she leaned back to join Yuno. She turned her head to gaze at the smaller girl, their faces inches away from each other. Again she was taken into rapture with Yuno and her beautiful eyes, and for several moments she forgot she was hungry. At least until Yuno's stomach rumbled.

"Oh, my stomach says 'Hello!'" Yuno said playfully, fidgeting slightly under Miyako's gaze.

Regretfully turning her attention away from Yuno, Miyako looked to their lunch and reached out for the bag next to her. She pulled out the little sandwiches and rice balls that Yuno had lovingly prepared earlier, along with a fresh bottle of green tea that had somehow managed to not become too warm. As Yuno moved their art to the side, Miyako set the food and drink on their adjoined legs.

"Time for lunch!" Miyako exclaimed as she unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite out of it ravenously. She had forgotten how hungry she was becoming during their drawing session, and now that food was before her it was very much time to pig out, delicately and with some semblance of manners so Yuno wouldn't get upset with her, as per usual. "Oh this is so yummy Yunocchi!"

"Thank you Miya-chan," Yuno replied as she began to eat a rice ball.

Miyako soon became aware that Yuno was staring at her, and so she placed her own gaze back on the girl as her small mouth took another small bite. Yuno had a grain of rice stuck to her lip as she slowly chewed, and Miyako couldn't help but notice. Normally Yuno would have taken note of such, but perhaps not when she was spacing out like she was now.

"You have an escapee," Miyako commented, reaching forward to remove it gently. Her hands were particularly dirty from drawing, but she knew it wouldn't matter to Yuno in this particular moment, especially if she was thinking about something else.

The tip of Miyako's finger brushed Yuno's lip, dragging the morsel away delicately and leaving Miyako with a desiring feeling that seemed to suddenly occupy every recess of her conscious mind. Yuno's lip had felt quite soft under her touch, and at the same time... electrifying. Like a live wire that you touched by accident and couldn't let go of because the energy overwhelmed your ability to control your own body. A surge of tingling feelings washed through Miyako, and quite suddenly all she wanted to do was close the short distance between her and Yuno and feel those soft, graphite tinged lips in hers. To lock on to them and not let go.

Miyako wanted to be overwhelmed with everything. She wanted to lose control. She wanted so bad to forget her promise to herself to never push Yuno too far, to never push Yuno into a corner, to never take away the innocence their relationship had always held. The innocence that allowed them to be so close without burdening each other.

But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to take that direction.

Miyako gazed into Yuno's eyes, watching the expression of the girl carefully as she wrestled the demons within herself. Yuno was wordless, gazing at her with a look that Miyako couldn't place. Miyako put on a stupid smile.

"Are you okay Yunocchi?"

"Nn... Yea." Yuno replied absentmindedly. She turned her gaze towards the temple grounds and took another small bite of her rice ball.

Miyako would have much rather preferred it if the sandy blonde haired girl had instead taken some initiative. Taken initiative and discarded the unsaid promises between them by pouncing and ravaging her lips as she was held against the trunk of that tree, throwing away all cares for everything except them in a heated moment of ecstasy.

The thought was substantially more delicious than the sandwich Miyako held in her hand, but she settled for the latter with sigh and turned her gaze away from Yuno.

Maybe next time.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 10** is scheduled for September 21st._

_**Hungry for more? **_This story is being released concurrently with K-ON!: My First!

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta:** Winterbraid


	11. Chapter 10

The quiet dark night seemed to have rolled in even more since Miyako had gone to bed. There was no noise from the street, no light through the windows, and even the smell of the most recent delicious dinner that Yuno had made for her seemed to have vanished from the room. A gentle breeze drifted through the sliding door behind the bed instead, and Miyako blinked her eyes a few more times as she suddenly found herself quite awake for no apparent reason in the middle of the night.

"_It must be past three in the morning,"_ Miyako thought to herself, wondering what had managed to awaken her. There weren't many things, man-made or not, that could pull her from the deep slumber she experienced every night. Someone would certainly have to be dying to wake her from even a restless sleep, though perhaps a wild Yuno monster rustling in the sheets would presently be enough.

Rolling her eyes to the side, Miyako glanced at Yuno. It seemed the small girl was sleeping quite soundly.

"_Well, that wasn't it."_

Miyako's curiosity as to what time it actually was persisted as her mind started turning the cogs of a wondrous contraption. Perhaps it was 3:13: The dark and foreboding omen of thirteen surely held the secrets of her awakening. Surely this was the night of the numerically motivated cultists and their obscure numerically motivated ways. Their strange rituals were surely being carried out in secret places, thankfully unbeknownst to the normal person, around fire-pits filled with burning plastic dolls parts and cheap bras. There would be multi-colored ribbons wrapped around short sticks with pointy sharp things in them waving about in the air, and the doers of doing would chant cryptic words to the tune of a bad jingle from a Spanish soap opera channel commercial. A commercial aired on the thirteenth day of the last month and containing small children.

"_Actually," _Miyako wondered to herself, _"This sounds strangely like last year's Cultist Club exposition, minus actual fire."_

Dissatisfied with her less than amazing realization, Miyako's mind skipped to the last satisfying thought she could remember: dinner time.

It was no secret that Miyako loved food, but the experience was even more lovable when it was Yuno whom the meal was had with. Miyako smiled to herself. Not more than seven hours ago they had shared a rather wonderful dinner together. The fish that they had bought on the way home from the temple was quite filling and delicious. Yuno had of course purchased the fish as well, and for this Miyako was particularly thankful as she still had no money of her own.

Yuno had prepared dinner perfectly and just the way Miyako liked it. Yuno always prepared everything the way she liked it. Yuno's cooking was the only cooking she really seemed to enjoy anymore. Hiro's cooking was quite nice too, and Miyako remembered it fondly, but nothing could ever compare to a meal of Yuno's. A meal from the girl that Miyako would follow to the ends of the Earth just to see her smile. If just for that reason alone, Yuno was certainly something that Hiro could never be.

"_Well, Hiro-senpai is clearly taken,"_ Miyako reminded herself, rolling onto her side to face her very dear and lovely Yuno. _"Not that it matters, I guess."_

There wasn't room for any comparison between Yuno and Hiro. Nothing could compare to the endless happiness that Yuno had brought Miyako over the years. Hiro was a great senior, a great mother to the residents of the Hidamari Apartments, but she never quite had the innate ability that Yuno had to put a smile on her face and make the worries of the day vanish. Furthermore, Miyako never felt that she could be quite as comfortable with Hiro as she was with Yuno. Even amidst her carefree tendencies, Miyako was certain that she wouldn't have bathed with Hiro the day they met, and yet with Yuno... It had happened so naturally it left Miyako to wonder often about that night long ago. Wonder whether or not she had overstepped her boundaries and simply just didn't know it. Perhaps it was rather the beginning of a wonderful future.

It occurred to Miyako fairly quickly that she was gazing at Yuno's face. It wasn't necessarily a shocking discovery: she had definitely stared at Yuno many times before, but this time she didn't have to worry about Yuno being embarrassed. Yuno's gentle breathing and slightly open lips told Miyako that her companion was quite well asleep in a dream world.

Miyako smiled, reaching a hand up to brush a lock of hair out of Yuno's eyes. It wasn't the first time she had acted tenderly towards Yuno while the latter slept, and Miyako was certain it wouldn't be the last. There was something peaceful about caring for the girl that Miyako had never been able to fully place. Perhaps it was reassuring to know that Yuno was right there, or perhaps it was nice to touch her beautiful hair or feel the warmth radiating from her adorable body. Either way it didn't matter to Miyako. The reasoning didn't matter. All that mattered was them together in that moment.

"It's just you and me, kid." Miyako whispered softly, quite below the threshold that would surely wake Yuno.

Somehow life had led them this way. It was interesting how it had all worked out, but again the reasoning and the logic didn't matter. If anything, Miyako was simply grateful for the direction her life had turned. She was grateful for the years she had spent with Yuno, and certainly the following days, weeks, and hopefully years to come. The only logic that seemed to persist in her thoughts when all other reasoning seemed lost in the wind was the fact that she absolutely never wanted to awake to the day when Yuno was not in her life.

"_I wasn't kidding about making you my wife at that department store you know, Yunocchi..." _Miyako mused to herself as she remembered the afternoon they had spent with Nori and Nazuna. That day had been fabulous. Yuno and her had simply had way too much fun messing around in the store, and it gave Miyako ever the more reason to believe that Yuno's agreeableness at that time was only half-kidding as well. The thought that they wanted to be with each other after their education at Yamabuki had ended was certainly showing through their playful natures that day. Certainly there was a grain of truth in everything they had said in jest.

Finding herself not finished with sorting Yuno's hair, Miyako brought her hand up once again and brushed another loose lock of hair from Yuno's face.

"Nnn..." Yuno mumbled with her mouth closed.

Watching curiously as she brought her hand away, Miyako could make out the faint outlines of a frown on Yuno's face. The darkness of the room didn't help her much in distinguishing the exact nature of Yuno's expression, but Miyako was at least sure that it wasn't a pleasant one.

Immediately Miyako began to doubt that Yuno appreciated her nighttime affections, but just before she could realize those fears Yuno whimpered again.

"Nnn..." Yuno's voice, albeit still through closed lips, was louder this time and perhaps even slightly pained.

Miyako hadn't known Yuno to talk in her sleep, but she wasn't ready to discard the idea that Yuno was having a dream. At the very least, she was fairly certain that Yuno wasn't upset with her. This of course only sparked Miyako's curiosity as to what Yuno was dreaming about, should that be the case.

It was only when Yuno shifted in her sleep that Miyako detected that something very unhappy was floating through her dreams. As Yuno's head turned on the pillow to face towards the ceiling, Miyako caught the glimpse of a small tear forming in her eye as it reflected the dim light coming through the glass door. The muscles of her cheek were tight, and her jaw was clenched.

Another closed mouth whimper came from Yuno's throat. It was substantially more discomforting to hear than the last and it prompted Miyako to take some sort of action without the need of forethought. Shifting her body next to Yuno's and still facing the distressed girl, Miyako reached up and set her arm across Yuno's torso, letting her hand come to rest on Yuno's cheek. Gently but with the intent of waking her, Miyako stroked her cheek tenderly.

There weren't many times in the past that Miyako could offer such an affection to Yuno, but at the present time Miyako hadn't the notion to even consider it. The thought that Yuno was upset seemed to obscure the idea completely.

"Yunocchi?" Miyako started softly. Seeing that Yuno didn't wake, Miyako tried again louder. "Yunocchi, are you okay?"

Yuno's eyes suddenly opened wide.

"No, don't hurt me! Don't come near meeee!" Yuno cried out, her arms flailing about. One shot into the air, the other fidgeted slightly because of Miyako's proximity. "Nooo, stop it! Stop it!"

If it had been anyone else, Miyako would have been certain at this point that she had somehow managed to cause mortal injury to the person in question just by sidling up to them, but that was not the case now. Yuno was clearly distraught beyond reason and Miyako had the experience to know it. She brushed Yuno's cheek again, trailing a loose tear along her soft skin as it was drawn away from the corner of her eye.

"Yunocchi, it's okay," Miyako consoled softly as she leaned her body closer against Yuno, pressing down gently on Yuno's left side "It was just a dream..."

"Nooo, the aliens!" Yuno stammered, still apparently in between realities. She tried to move both her arms again, though it was quite impossible now to even fidget the arm tucked under Miyako's body. "They're coming! They're coming for me!"

"Yunocchi..." Miyako said again, "There aren't any aliens."

Miyako's creative mind said otherwise, but now wasn't the time for that. Now was definitely the worst possible time to go along with Yuno's ramblings and pretend alien surgeries were about to begin. Or that spaceships with underwear-powered fuel cells had descended and were about to raid the local lingerie store for the elusive black lace button-up bottoms with the matching black brassieres.

"It's a trap! They took Miya-chan! They took Miya-chan I saw them! They made her into a robot zombie with fangs!" Yuno rambled loudly, trying to get out of Miyako's embrace as she seemed to suddenly become aware that it was in fact Miyako right beside her. The one the aliens took and somehow converted into the mechanical undead.

Yuno's flounderings were a futile attempt at best. Miyako was decently taller and somewhat stronger than Yuno. Her breasts also weighed more.

"Nooo, Miya-chan, don't do it! Don't do it, it's me!" Yuno cried, turning to face Miyako with a scared-out-of-her-wits expression that clearly resembled those one might find in a sugar obsessed asylum lacking milk and cookies. Lacking the delicious confections with little bits of chocolate and toffee in them.

It was by impulse that Miyako began to move her face closer to Yuno. She didn't have to think. Not right now.

"Nooooo, the tendrils! The tendrils! Don't do thi..."

Yuno's voice abruptly stopped as Miyako's face was suddenly very close to hers. It was hard for Miyako to tell what had exactly silenced Yuno, but certainly it was one or more of the familiar things about herself that she knew Yuno recognized. Perhaps it was her hair as it fell upon Yuno's cheek, or perhaps it was the way she smelled after a long eventful day and a nice bath. Perhaps it was the way she took control of the situation.

Miyako kissed Yuno's cheek and nestled her head into Yuno's neck.

"It's okay, Yunocchi." Miyako said softly into Yuno's ear, nuzzling her nose into Yuno. "It's just me."

Yuno's body relaxed immediately under Miyako as the stress of her nightmarish adventure began to fade. For several moments relative quiet filled the room. The laboured breaths of Yuno's were now the breaths of a mellowing survivor before calm returned completely. She wasn't ready to burst into action, and she wasn't ready to say anything either... Only a curious silence existed amidst the sound of beating hearts and breathing.

"You scared me Yunocchi," Miyako whispered as she regathered her own normal state of mind, "Your face was so upset while you were sleeping... I just had to wake you."

Miyako brought her head up and looked into Yuno's eyes, only to find the girl beneath her gazing right back with the remnants of tears drying. Yuno was beautiful in that moment, perhaps more so than most moments when their faces weren't so close, and it struck Miyako that she should probably remove herself from Yuno in order to avoid embarrassing her. Miyako sighed as she begin to shift her weight from Yuno and back onto the side of the bed where she had been sleeping.

"No, Miya-chan!" Yuno said suddenly as she became aware Miyako was scooting away. Her body twisted around quickly, rolling most of the way on top of Miyako and snuggling face down with her chin just barely above Miyako's shoulders. Yuno's legs straddled one of Miyako's, and her hands grasped onto Miyako's shirt. "No... Don't go... I'm sorry..."

Miyako didn't know what to think with Yuno suddenly camping out on top of her, and she was definitely lost with Yuno's apologies. Smiling and accepting the whims of the small girl as she always did, Miyako wrapped her arms around Yuno's back.

"What are you apologizing for?" Miyako asked simply with a quiet voice.

"For telling you to go away..." Yuno said into Miyako's neck with a slight muffle. "I didn't mean it. I really didn't..."

"You know I didn't listen to you..."

"Yea, well..." Yuno replied with a mumble. She didn't move, nor did it seem like she was going to explain further.

Rubbing Yuno's back slightly and trying not to perv out completely, Miyako put it together.

"You're still scared of your dream?"

Yuno nodded her head, whimpering an acknowledgement.

Curiosity with regards to what Yuno had experienced in the dreamworld struck Miyako, but Yuno's feelings were of greater concern at the moment and she decided to refrain from asking about the nightmare. It would be better to ask during daylight hours when the trauma had long passed and Yuno wasn't rilled up about aliens.

For now she could savor the wonderful feelings and sensations of Yuno intimately close to her.

...o.o.o.o_..._

_**Sunshine: Chapter 11** is scheduled for October 5th._

_**Hungry for more? **_This story is being released concurrently with K-ON!: My First!

**Know When This Storyline is Continued!** Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. _I also post updates in my profile._

**Beta:** Winterbraid


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